House, Heal Thyself!

The idea of a self-healing house, if such a thing would even enter the typical person's mind, would be a homeowner's dream. Come hell (global warming) or high water (hurricanes, floods, etc.), earthquakes or whatever, wouldn't it be wonderful if your house could repair itself?

Contractors would probably hate the idea, but they could concentrate on building the self-healing houses. In any case, just such a house is under construction on a Greek mountainside.

A "self-healing" house is under construction on a Greek mountainside. Leeds NanoManufacturing Institute will take the lead in a EU-funded project by developing special walls with nano polymer particles. The intent is that when squeezed under pressure (during an earthquake), the nano polymer particles will flow into cracks and harden to form a solid material.

This house will have more going for it than nanotech. The house walls will be built from unique load-bearing steel frames. But the house will also contain wireless, battery-less sensors and RFID tags to collect data over time—information about stresses and vibration, temperature and humidity.

Of course it may be a few years before you can order yourself a self-healing house, but perhaps it won't be as long as you might think.

Original Story

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