back to article IBM accidentally invents new class of polymers

IBM says its research arm accidentally invented the first new class of polymers the world has known for decades. Detailed here in a paper titled Recyclable, Strong Thermosets and Organogels via Paraformaldehyde Condensation with Diamines, the newly-discovered polymers were the result of an accident that saw IBM researcher …

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  1. Pen-y-gors

    Go boffins!

    Don't you just love serendipity?

    (excuse me while I go and take my penicillin)

    1. Petrea Mitchell
      Go

      Re: Go boffins!

      Isaac Asimov said it best: "The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not 'Eureka!' but 'That's funny...'"

  2. sorry, what?
    Coat

    The video should have...

    paid homage to the Solvite ad and had the researcher glued to a wall. Of course, having to use acid to release her would have been a bit harsh.

  3. Grikath
    Holmes

    solvent...

    " They also dissolve in liquids where pH <2"

    I think you'll find that most of anything wil dissolve in liquids with pH <2.....

    The fact that by that same line it's actually resistant to pH up to that level is rather more impressive though.

    1. FartingHippo
      Boffin

      Re: solvent...

      Nope, you could take a bath in pH 2 acid and be ok (rubbing in the eyes not recommended).

      For example, lemons and vinegar are about that acidic, and my chips never seem to end up as a pool of sludge...

      1. kain preacher

        Re: solvent...

        I think means below 2.

  4. Bene Pendentes

    yes, but ...

    ... is it something we could make space tethers out of? IS2R we need a four fold improvement in strength / density of our current best fibre (kevlar?) to get a space elevator tether built.

  5. stucs201

    Now this is a proper invention.

    New substances invented by accident often turn out really well.

    1. frank ly

      Re: Now this is a proper invention.

      That's probably because you only hear about the ones that are worth talking about and developing further.

      1. Frankee Llonnygog

        Re: you only hear about the ones that are worth talking about

        Which assumes there are survivors

        1. willi0000000

          Which assumes there are survivors

          see Ignition! by John D. Clark.

          subtitle: An Informal History of Liquid Rocket Propellants

          [that man was a natural born survivor]

          1. FutureShock999

            Re: Which assumes there are survivors

            Fantastic book. Loved the part when he talks about interviewing new candidates to work in the propulsion chem labs, and how he always made sure to make something explode during their interview to see how the candidate would react...had to filter out the jumpy ones!

  6. Dr. Mouse

    Accidental discoveries

    Gotta love 'em!

    Oh damn! I forgot to add this. I'll have to throw it away and start aga... Hang on, how the hell is it doing that? Wow, this stuff is awesome!

  7. saundby

    Self healing skin for Terminators. Just in time.

    1. Captain Scarlet Silver badge
      Boffin

      Quick ditch the garlic necklaces and get the Sarson's (Other Vinegar's are available)!

  8. Inventor of the Marmite Laser Silver badge

    What to call it?

    My vote is

    Strong

    Novel

    Organogels and

    Thermosets

    1. Mage Silver badge

      Re: What to call it?

      Will it be in a range of yellow to green shades?

  9. Barely registers
    Boffin

    Terry Pratchett gets the patent though...

    From "The Long Earth" with Stephen Baxter:

    "He was after all the founder of the first 'serendipital laboratory'. The logic was that since so many important new discoveries in science were made by accident, then the process would be speeded up if you set up a situation in which a very large number of accidents happened and watched the results carefully."

    Kudos though to the researcher who at least thought "that's interesting..."

    1. Graham Dawson Silver badge

      Re: Terry Pratchett gets the patent though...

      There's a lot of fascinating stuff in those books. I shouldn't be surprised really - Bringing two of writing's greatest minds and smashing them together between a single hardcover was bound to produce something spectacular.

      1. Richard Taylor 2

        Re: Terry Pratchett gets the patent though...

        It did with 'Good Omens'

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    When did it happen?

    Was it on a friday after a liquid lunch? Inquiring minds wish to know...

  11. Yesnomaybe

    "Self-healing"

    "Self-healing plastic", now that sounds really cool! But watching the video, it's like"Meh, it's "sticky", not "self-healing". I think I sneezed out something with the same self-healing properties earlier this morning. It was green mind, not blue.

    1. Mad Chaz

      Re: "Self-healing"

      Not quite. It's not just sticky. If you place bits togeter and heat them, it forms a solid bit with the same properties as if you'd never riped the bits from one another in the first place. This is what makes metal such a usefull material and something plastics have a VERY hard time doing, because they just get sticky, as you say.

      Still, another nail in the coffin of the wish bosses have that boffins should never ever concentrate on anything but exactly the usefull stuff the boss wants.

  12. Britt Johnston
    Thumb Up

    reversable thermosetting

    Thermosetting polymers are cheap and strong, but one of their disadvantages is that they cannot be reused. You have to throw them away or grind them up.

    So one which can be separated to its original components in strong acid could be really handy.

  13. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge

    No-one? Oh, okay then...

    IBM researcher Jeannette M. Garcia forget to add one ingredient during some lab work. That happy error led the compound she was working on to become hard.

    FNARR! FNARR!

  14. John Smith 19 Gold badge
    Thumb Up

    Impressive stuff. You can bet they will be varying the mix to see what they can find

    Exciting times.

  15. willi0000000

    always watch for the unexpected . . . that's when the fun begins!

  16. Scott 26

    purple latex gloves?

    So they've found an artefact then?

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