Imagine living infrastructure, where a bone-like material replaces concrete, and is constantly repaired and replenished (like bone) by engineered microbes.
"Self healing Concrete" was my final year project during my undergrad. I was successful in making it super cheap. I have lab pictures, videos and report on that. Just in case my research could get a high ground or may be something of your use. Big fan of your videos. Thanks
MrHippyHippo no but i wish to do so. Being undergrad at that time no one took it seriously. Later on a local news paper posted about my work though. I am looking for proper guidance and platform.
You don't have a european sounding name. According to my (south american) college teachers, that by itself drastically decreases your chances of getting published.
Self-healing concrete is super awesome! A note on your end-card stuff: the problem with solar panels is that the more you learn about them, the more you realize they are not going to be a significant contributor to fighting climate change.
*Ţяэßş ŢдќєŞ™* This sounds like microslavery to me. It took many compassionate souls many centuries (or even millenia) to begin our world's enlightenment of recognizing our ignorance and bias toward "race" and "culture" variations within our own human species. Perhaps now, more than ever, we should be mindful of how we consider, respect, and treat *all* forms of life, great and small, on this planet. For I feel that the ones that we do not destroy in the name of "progress" will eventually have no other choice than to destroy us.
Really awesome video. I've got some things to clarify as this subject was one of the topics I considered for my PhD dissertation. 1- Although the bacteria is found in some volcanic ponds, it is engineered in the lab so that it can react with calcium lactate to produce Quicklime (calcium oxide) which fills the cracks. 2- the main issue with self-healing concrete is not the price per se but the fact that the bacteria dies after some time due to the high alkalinity in concrete( the pH can be as high as 13.2 in some calcium rich mixtures). The longest lifespan I've read about in the literature was 300 days which is significant because most micro cracks (which usually grow with time to become major cracks) start during the early life of the concrete (drying shrinkage, temperature cracks , hydration cracks,,,etc). Nice video and great research . I wish you guys would more videos about structural engineering.
@@Egregiusthanks. I'm glad you found it to be interesting. On the subject of the other method, I didn't read about it much but it seems promising. However, there are other issues to be considered such as: 1- the surface condition (by that I mean will it be necessary to clean the surface in order for the bacteria and its products to adhere and become a part of the structure? Because in most repairs the most important point is that the repair material sticks to the substrate and become a part of it. Othewise the repair material will just detach after some time. 2- the size of the cracks to be repaired and how deep can the bacteria diffuse into the concrete. 3- will the bacteria be able to fill the cracks before it dries since most biochemical reactions are slow? As I said it is a promising area and I wish I'd been able to continue working on the subject of self-healing concrete but due to the limitations in my college I had to change the subject of the dissertation towards another one.
@@rr_gaming4954 stolen from myself? Sorry trollbottom..I own the rights..ya spend too much time trolling instead of coming up with original stuff like i do 🤣😂🤣
@@rr_gaming4954 Do you seriously not have anything better to do than complain about people possibly stealing your internet points... Yeah, I got nothing going on
Maybe water only dissolves the capsules in the presence of air (like in the case of a crack)? This would also mean that a fresh concrete surface exposed to air would immediately activate the bacteria who would promptly seal themselves in. Kinda like a protective patina of rust covering some metal surfaces preventing further rusting/oxidation.
Hey could you cite the source during the video or quote the fact down in the sources? That way I don't have to look through all sources for the material I am interested in. It might be a little more work for you but it makes it easier to follow the curiosity you want to inspire. Thanks
And since I found the source regarding the CO2 Emission of 9% because you fortunately made your citations in order. I found that it says that cement production is responsible for 5% of the world's CO2 Emission
Maybe you can develop kidney stones instead, something I'm sure you don't want unless you are some kind of sick masochist. I won't judge you if you are I'm just presenting an alternative scenario.
Did you see the chemical analysis of Puma Punku megalithic H blocks? Geopolymer Institute Channel. They used bat guano and rubber and can be carbon dated now. They also used natron, pumice, volcanic ash, ground rock and maybe I am forgetting something. The bat guano was to reharden the stone apparently
Bacteria, combined with our ability to modify the genome, is probably one of the most powerful toolkits given to humans. The ability to repair concrete...simply incredible how much was given to us to maintain and develop the earth. Now if only we can stop choking ourselves with that leash.
Makes perfect sense,the further our biology research gets the more microbes appear to be the future in chemical/material printers. Bacteria,yeast, and even bacteriophages are without a doubt the future of humanity,they are the philosophers stone. Through them we shall print gold and bestow immortality to humanity.
I am also confused by this statement, but my best guess is that the concrete replaces the container because Hank said "rocky prison" (2:27) so maybe the capsules are just for storing the bacteria, but once they are in the concrete, it can regulate when they are alive, and when they are not.
@@nafrost2787 I understood it the same. The capsules are there only for the initial mixing and setting of the concrete, to protect the bacteria and ensure they don't mess with the intended shape of the concrete. Once they break open and fill the crack, they effectively trap themselves again and go to sleep. It is actually how cells in our own bones operate, purposefully limiting their own growth until they are needed again when a break occurs. We are basically turing concrete into bones made of rock with this bacterial healing technique.
Is this idea at all related to that "mysterious super concrete" that the romans had that got stronger with seawater exposure? Obvs not the same technique, but could bacteria have played a role in that concrete as well?
Less than you'd think. Normal disease creating bacteria are more likely to evolve into something from our use of antiseptics than radiation. These bacteria are adapted not adaptive. They are specialized to live in a specific environment that we want. Probably the worst thing that could happen is the bacteria die from the radiation... But they are sealed in concrete.
Bacteria just normally do that. Many years ago, someone thought to see what might be in the highly radiated water used to cool nuclear plants. They found bacteria thriving. Life on earth is found in the most extreme conditions all over the planet, whenever we look.
This reminds me of The Aluminum Man by G.C. Edmondson (1975). It was a funny book but in the end civilization collapses when bacteria gets loose and eats all the concrete. Just letting you know you should tell the bacteria not to eat the wrong thing. 😁
Use fiberglass not iron for reinforcement. But some construction companies worry these structures will last too long and they'll lose business. Catch 22?
Concrete: Hey, Water! You think you're really special, don't you. Being the most used substance on Earth. Water: Well, yea. So what? Concrete: You know I'm the second most used substance on Earth, right? Water: Yea. Concrete: So I'm made with you. Without me, you wouldn't be number one! Water: Thanks, I guess?
Neat. I wonder how that compares to the concrete that just sticks back to together on it's own (no bacteria). I can't remember if it was covered on this channel, but I also can't find it because search results are now crowed out by this new one. :\ The kind I'm thinking of was sort of rubbery and just tended to with shape-memory polymers or something like that. Searching I found some other liquid sealing polymer concrete. That's neat, but not the one I'm thinking of either.
Sand and gravel are commodities. They are used both in concrete, and for other uses. You can't use concrete until you use sand and gravel with cement to make it. Plus all the other uses sand and gravel is used for.
In India there is one process of water proofing which uses gud a product of sugar cane juice which is fermented in water and used during the cementation process
Just imagine this: you are trying to tear down a building and it just rebuilds itself Oo. Finish your work friday afternoon and by monday morning you can start again at the beginning. Would solve quite a few employment problems :D
I think rust on the steel reinforcement is not due to just the water content: concrete is basic: this causes oxidation of the metal. The fact that self repairing concrete is possible with these bacteria is amazing though
Doesn't Roman concrete have similar self repair properties because of the volcanic ash it mixes in? Is it also based on bacteria or just chemical reaction?
Judging by the top google result I got from 'roman concrete self healing' it's most likely to be chemical, in the sense that a mineral in the mix crystallizes in contact with sea water.
Yep, been doing it for years and years. It's the 'safest' way to dispose of it. 'Cause there's no real way to quickly get rid of radiation. Just gotta put it somewhere to wait it out.
So I'm no civil engineer but if the healed concrete isn't quite as strong as it originally was, then it would wear over time, but the damage would be harder to notice and probably less likely to receive proper maintenance. If this stuff ever sees widespread use, then you would expect that it would eventually reach a tipping point where we would see widespread structural failure all over the place. Granted, if a layperson like me sees this problem then I'm sure the people that get paid to think about this stuff see it too and would take precautions against it. Still, it's hard not to worry when we still see the the consequences of poor foresight in regards to asbestos in walls, lead pipes, and lead paint
There is a metal among the elements that can repair itself. Aluminum, Which was why it was sacred to the Egyptians up until they discovered how common it was, but they revered it long enough for at least one Pharaoh to to be entombed in a sarcophagus made out of it.
@@bugsbunny8691 There's some truth to that. Aluminum has a oxide layer on it, when it's damaged the aluminum is unaffected while the oxide layer itself. What also pretty cool is that if you mix aluminum with with liquid gallium you are removing the oxide layer completely and it repair and if you pour water over it the aluminum can react with the water to produce hydrogen which can burned as fuel. Imagine buying a six pack of beer/soda and using the empty cans to fuel your car.
probably not. Roman concrete isn't significantly better than versions we use today. Reason why it lasts so long is because Romans lacked modern steel production - they couldn't use reinforced concrete. They had to build their structures to fully rely on compressive strength. We could do that today too. We don't do it, because there's no point in making much more expensive buildings that can in theory last millennia, when they'd outlive their usefulness or be in need of a major upgrade in couple of decades.
We know exactly why Roman concrete lasted so long: 1) The cement contained useful volcanic compounds. 2) Roman concrete contained no rebar, which rusts and causes cracks. 3) Roman structures weren't built to withstand vehicular stress. 4) Roman structures were overwrought and overengineered. If they had a budget, their structures would have gone way over. 5) We only see the structures that stood the test of time. Everything else has worn away. So no. There is no mystery.
@@henriksjoblom It has more to do with the economy. When you find the ruins of the civilisation still standing millennia after the civilisation collapsed, the buildings are part of the reason why it was the civilisation that collapsed, instead of the buildings.
One of the biggest technical challenges we have left is carbon emissions from concrete production. Is there any way to deal with that other than carbon capture and sequestration? We can power our grid with renewables, electric cars are up to the task, soon electric trucks will be, and electric trains are definitely feasible, those are all economics problems. But concrete production emits carbon, and we need to deal with that.
Go to Brilliant.org/SciShow to try out Brilliant’s Daily Challenges. The first 200 subscribers get 20% off an annual Premium subscription.
Stop yelling at me
CO2 is not harmful to the environment. Plants need CO2 to live. The more CO2 the faster plants grow.
@@frankg6981
You're wrong. biology.stackexchange.com/questions/71312/can-plants-suffer-from-co2-poisoning
Sounds promising, but we still need concrete proof that it actually works.
Lol
i have a feeling the results will be effectively shitty, at best.
If it doesn't work as expected it could be mortarfying.
Failure would set the progress of masonry back to stone age
@@ArchangelExile Accept the supremacy of the pun-makers.
"self healing concrete"!! YES!
Imagine living infrastructure, where a bone-like material replaces concrete, and is constantly repaired and replenished (like bone) by engineered microbes.
its work like nano machinery that can self repairing
Jess Stuart that’s terrifying
Queue the Melding Plague from Alastair Reynolds revelation space novels.
Theres already a concept of making structures out of reinforced protein. The only problem is of course... infections.
Biotechnology?
"Self healing Concrete" was my final year project during my undergrad. I was successful in making it super cheap. I have lab pictures, videos and report on that. Just in case my research could get a high ground or may be something of your use. Big fan of your videos. Thanks
That’s interesting, did you publish that work?
MrHippyHippo no but i wish to do so. Being undergrad at that time no one took it seriously. Later on a local news paper posted about my work though. I am looking for proper guidance and platform.
You don't have a european sounding name. According to my (south american) college teachers, that by itself drastically decreases your chances of getting published.
How do you get the bacteria(bacillus)?.And how you prepared bacteria and mixed it in the concrete???
@Uwais Shaikh ..plz help.me ...as I am doing research on this ..plz email dkking93@gmail.com
Self-healing concrete is super awesome! A note on your end-card stuff: the problem with solar panels is that the more you learn about them, the more you realize they are not going to be a significant contributor to fighting climate change.
That was a Concrete explanation on bacteria.
But the sneaky ad was not so Brilliant
I liked the ad :)
You think you’re clever huh?
To confirm your hypothesis, I need some concrete evidence.
That would be hard
Sounds rough...
Thats some tasty stolen comment right there
RR_Gaming ??
Bacteria flexing on us
*Ţяэßş ŢдќєŞ™* This sounds like microslavery to me. It took many compassionate souls many centuries (or even millenia) to begin our world's enlightenment of recognizing our ignorance and bias toward "race" and "culture" variations within our own human species. Perhaps now, more than ever, we should be mindful of how we consider, respect, and treat *all* forms of life, great and small, on this planet. For I feel that the ones that we do not destroy in the name of "progress" will eventually have no other choice than to destroy us.
Wow this is going to put me out of a job eventually 😂😂 😂🤣
@JuicyWatermelone yeah we need to build a wall to keep the illegal bacteria out.
Once, I was in a kayak and ran into a concrete wall. I was like, "Dam!"
That thing must have come from out of nowhere. Weir-d.
I can't understand how that could happen - canoe?
@@TitanUranusOfficial It was a very bad day, It was quite the oar-deal.
@Master Therion I wouldn't want to get into a pun war with you, it would be quite a row, and I'm afraid you'd win, Obi-Wan Canoe-bi
Gravijta
It must have come out of
no-weir.
Muscle Hank stares at the concrete and heals it
Which comment is the duplicate?
Really awesome video. I've got some things to clarify as this subject was one of the topics I considered for my PhD dissertation.
1- Although the bacteria is found in some volcanic ponds, it is engineered in the lab so that it can react with calcium lactate to produce Quicklime (calcium oxide) which fills the cracks.
2- the main issue with self-healing concrete is not the price per se but the fact that the bacteria dies after some time due to the high alkalinity in concrete( the pH can be as high as 13.2 in some calcium rich mixtures). The longest lifespan I've read about in the literature was 300 days which is significant because most micro cracks (which usually grow with time to become major cracks) start during the early life of the concrete (drying shrinkage, temperature cracks , hydration cracks,,,etc).
Nice video and great research . I wish you guys would more videos about structural engineering.
Thanks for the extra info!!
Also what do you think about the suggestion at the end of spraying a mix of bacteria and food on the finished product?
@@Egregiusthanks. I'm glad you found it to be interesting. On the subject of the other method, I didn't read about it much but it seems promising. However, there are other issues to be considered such as:
1- the surface condition (by that I mean will it be necessary to clean the surface in order for the bacteria and its products to adhere and become a part of the structure? Because in most repairs the most important point is that the repair material sticks to the substrate and become a part of it. Othewise the repair material will just detach after some time.
2- the size of the cracks to be repaired and how deep can the bacteria diffuse into the concrete.
3- will the bacteria be able to fill the cracks before it dries since most biochemical reactions are slow?
As I said it is a promising area and I wish I'd been able to continue working on the subject of self-healing concrete but due to the limitations in my college I had to change the subject of the dissertation towards another one.
Muscle Hank can stare at the concrete and heal it
Which comment is the duplicate?
Providing concrete proof it works would be hard.
Do you seriously not have anything better to do than steal popular internet comments for virtual points
@@rr_gaming4954 stolen from myself? Sorry trollbottom..I own the rights..ya spend too much time trolling instead of coming up with original stuff like i do 🤣😂🤣
@@rr_gaming4954 Do you seriously not have anything better to do than complain about people possibly stealing your internet points... Yeah, I got nothing going on
If water dissolves the capsules then how do you mix the concrete in the first place?
What a good question. I wonder what the answer is.
Joshua Walker more water?
@@FishFind3000
And how would that work then?
Maybe water only dissolves the capsules in the presence of air (like in the case of a crack)? This would also mean that a fresh concrete surface exposed to air would immediately activate the bacteria who would promptly seal themselves in.
Kinda like a protective patina of rust covering some metal surfaces preventing further rusting/oxidation.
Maybe there is an additive int the concrete that prevents the capsules from dissolving the first time, or maybe the capsules are extra thick.
Hey could you cite the source during the video or quote the fact down in the sources? That way I don't have to look through all sources for the material I am interested in. It might be a little more work for you but it makes it easier to follow the curiosity you want to inspire. Thanks
And since I found the source regarding the CO2 Emission of 9% because you fortunately made your citations in order. I found that it says that cement production is responsible for 5% of the world's CO2 Emission
Wolfenstein’s fungal super concrete
I never thought I would say this about concrete... But this is amazing.
Practical Engineering wants to know your location
I did a report on this sort of thing in highschool. Self repairing materials.
Thank you for your concrete - on to the point videos scishow
best idea ever... mix extremophile with ionizing radiation!?!
We'd be one earthquake away from pissing the microbes off, and you wouldn't like microbes when they're angry.
*"Muscle Hank" wants to know your location.*
velaachlorine swollifornia
@@bigredwolf6 LolxD
Did someone say "super strong"?
The secret to building industructible buildings, is to take tardigrades and place them in the same nanostructure as graphene. Bingo bango unbreakable
So many buzzwords!
@@ryanbrown1835
More like jargon lol
I wanna drink that bacteria-filled liquid to see if I can poop out rocks.
There's always that one guy...
Maybe you can develop kidney stones instead, something I'm sure you don't want unless you are some kind of sick masochist. I won't judge you if you are I'm just presenting an alternative scenario.
but your stomach is acidic, making it's alkaline prison acidic or neutral.
Why
Pooping rocks is never good.
If bacteria was really that strong my fridge would be like SuperMan!
As a concrete patcher I think this is great!! I go from tough laborer to microbiology if my company stays ahead of the curve? Heck yeah!!
Did you see the chemical analysis of Puma Punku megalithic H blocks? Geopolymer Institute Channel. They used bat guano and rubber and can be carbon dated now. They also used natron, pumice, volcanic ash, ground rock and maybe I am forgetting something. The bat guano was to reharden the stone apparently
Bacteria, combined with our ability to modify the genome, is probably one of the most powerful toolkits given to humans. The ability to repair concrete...simply incredible how much was given to us to maintain and develop the earth. Now if only we can stop choking ourselves with that leash.
"... put those bacteria to work" ... but we'll also need very tiny whips or sticks-and-carrots
Imagine a billion microscopic Muscle Hanks locking arms in hexagonal structures.
Kek
I always get so excited when you guys upload
You can also use pulverized glass or crushed animal bone and pulverized waste concrete as aggregate.
I prefer human bones.
Gotta hide the bodies somehow.
J.J. Shank that’s risky though, ya gotta make sure they drank enough milk for calcium
The secret to super strong concrete is the Hulk
Can you do an episode about dermatillomania and trichotillomania?
I am a civil engineer, I find this very interesting >.>
Makes perfect sense,the further our biology research gets the more microbes appear to be the future in chemical/material printers.
Bacteria,yeast, and even bacteriophages are without a doubt the future of humanity,they are the philosophers stone. Through them we shall print gold and bestow immortality to humanity.
I'm gunna need to to see some concrete evidence for this.
me- Puts bacteria in concrete
bacteria- am I a joke to you?
Pretty cool stuff :)
Bacteria is resealed in its container? How, if it dissolved?
I am also confused by this statement, but my best guess is that the concrete replaces the container because Hank said "rocky prison" (2:27) so maybe the capsules are just for storing the bacteria, but once they are in the concrete, it can regulate when they are alive, and when they are not.
@@nafrost2787
I understood it the same. The capsules are there only for the initial mixing and setting of the concrete, to protect the bacteria and ensure they don't mess with the intended shape of the concrete. Once they break open and fill the crack, they effectively trap themselves again and go to sleep. It is actually how cells in our own bones operate, purposefully limiting their own growth until they are needed again when a break occurs. We are basically turing concrete into bones made of rock with this bacterial healing technique.
Is this idea at all related to that "mysterious super concrete" that the romans had that got stronger with seawater exposure? Obvs not the same technique, but could bacteria have played a role in that concrete as well?
Whoever provides concrete proof on this should be considered brilliant.
Bacteria adaptive enough to survive extreme conditions....radioactive waste....what could go wrong?
And i oop-
Less than you'd think. Normal disease creating bacteria are more likely to evolve into something from our use of antiseptics than radiation. These bacteria are adapted not adaptive. They are specialized to live in a specific environment that we want. Probably the worst thing that could happen is the bacteria die from the radiation... But they are sealed in concrete.
heh @doomfullord, you've been Poe'd, sorry.
Tony Designs make sure it’s not pathogenic 🙃
Bacteria just normally do that.
Many years ago, someone thought to see what might be in the highly radiated water used to cool nuclear plants. They found bacteria thriving.
Life on earth is found in the most extreme conditions all over the planet, whenever we look.
self repairing concrete has been a thing for years now, but like most of these breakthroughs it costs more than not doing it...
This reminds me of The Aluminum Man by G.C. Edmondson (1975). It was a funny book but in the end civilization collapses when bacteria gets loose and eats all the concrete. Just letting you know you should tell the bacteria not to eat the wrong thing. 😁
Use fiberglass not iron for reinforcement. But some construction companies worry these structures will last too long and they'll lose business. Catch 22?
The difference in thermal expansion between fiberglass and concrete makes this impractical. Steel is also cheaper than fiberglass.
Hank is the best
Info on the bricks bioMason is growing seem like a good addendum to this video
Concrete: Hey, Water! You think you're really special, don't you. Being the most used substance on Earth.
Water: Well, yea. So what?
Concrete: You know I'm the second most used substance on Earth, right?
Water: Yea.
Concrete: So I'm made with you. Without me, you wouldn't be number one!
Water: Thanks, I guess?
3:11 Radioactive concrete bacteria sounds like a great idea
You literally emit a small amount of radiation just by being alive Sargent Sarcastic.
Neat. I wonder how that compares to the concrete that just sticks back to together on it's own (no bacteria).
I can't remember if it was covered on this channel, but I also can't find it because search results are now crowed out by this new one. :\ The kind I'm thinking of was sort of rubbery and just tended to with shape-memory polymers or something like that. Searching I found some other liquid sealing polymer concrete. That's neat, but not the one I'm thinking of either.
Wow. That was astounding!
Sand and gravel are commodities. They are used both in concrete, and for other uses.
You can't use concrete until you use sand and gravel with cement to make it. Plus all the other uses sand and gravel is used for.
Science is golden.
A more fitting title would have been, "The Secret to Super _Durable_ Concrete is... Bacteria".
This is amazing!
Beautiful!
Put extremophiles next to radiation source. Hmmm, I guess we have out script for the next summer blockbuster.
Concrete that regrows itself. Wow..... Wowowowowow
Using them in a hazardous waste environment they will have to consider if said waste will have a negative effect on the bacteria over time
In India there is one process of water proofing which uses gud a product of sugar cane juice which is fermented in water and used during the cementation process
Just imagine this: you are trying to tear down a building and it just rebuilds itself Oo. Finish your work friday afternoon and by monday morning you can start again at the beginning. Would solve quite a few employment problems :D
I think rust on the steel reinforcement is not due to just the water content: concrete is basic: this causes oxidation of the metal.
The fact that self repairing concrete is possible with these bacteria is amazing though
Holy crap this is awesome
Wow, F'ING AMAZING!!!
Doesn't Roman concrete have similar self repair properties because of the volcanic ash it mixes in? Is it also based on bacteria or just chemical reaction?
Judging by the top google result I got from 'roman concrete self healing' it's most likely to be chemical, in the sense that a mineral in the mix crystallizes in contact with sea water.
The road will be alive? Is it cruel to drive on it then?
You have just killed multiple billions of bacteria while reading this.
*You monster!*
Wow, finally a place where the food industry can use even more sugar 😄
Speaking of solar energy can you talk about Perovskite solar panels?
here comes concrete puns
Genius!
Where's this bacteria? I will eat them up to make my self a statue of myself so future generations can gaze upon me with wonder...
WAIT... underground chambers for radioactive waste??? We have those??? This looks worse than a chamber for Cthulhu.
Yep, been doing it for years and years. It's the 'safest' way to dispose of it. 'Cause there's no real way to quickly get rid of radiation. Just gotta put it somewhere to wait it out.
How about self healing pants?
Biocrete. Microbes can also excrete goethite and silk proteins.
can i get the protoype of the products?
since im has business with concrete too, so maybe i will be glad to helping with that experiments
MORE STRUCTURES RELATED TOPICS I LOVE IT
DAMN! Someone stole my idea!
Dangit wish I watched the video BEFORE I went and mixed yogurt in my concrete and redid my driveway based on the title! Live n learn I guess
So I'm no civil engineer but if the healed concrete isn't quite as strong as it originally was, then it would wear over time, but the damage would be harder to notice and probably less likely to receive proper maintenance. If this stuff ever sees widespread use, then you would expect that it would eventually reach a tipping point where we would see widespread structural failure all over the place. Granted, if a layperson like me sees this problem then I'm sure the people that get paid to think about this stuff see it too and would take precautions against it. Still, it's hard not to worry when we still see the the consequences of poor foresight in regards to asbestos in walls, lead pipes, and lead paint
Would be nice if this exists for metals too
There is a metal among the elements that can repair itself. Aluminum, Which was why it was sacred to the Egyptians up until they discovered how common it was, but they revered it long enough for at least one Pharaoh to to be entombed in a sarcophagus made out of it.
@@bugsbunny8691 There's some truth to that.
Aluminum has a oxide layer on it, when it's damaged the aluminum is unaffected while the oxide layer itself.
What also pretty cool is that if you mix aluminum with with liquid gallium you are removing the oxide layer completely and it repair and if you pour water over it the aluminum can react with the water to produce hydrogen which can burned as fuel.
Imagine buying a six pack of beer/soda and using the empty cans to fuel your car.
So, something along this new addition to concrete might be why we havent figured out why Roman concrete last so long..
Actually, it seems that it’s because they used volcanic ash, which prevents the cracks from spreading.
probably not. Roman concrete isn't significantly better than versions we use today. Reason why it lasts so long is because Romans lacked modern steel production - they couldn't use reinforced concrete. They had to build their structures to fully rely on compressive strength.
We could do that today too. We don't do it, because there's no point in making much more expensive buildings that can in theory last millennia, when they'd outlive their usefulness or be in need of a major upgrade in couple of decades.
@@KohuGaly Sounds like an engineer talking? (Y)
We know exactly why Roman concrete lasted so long:
1) The cement contained useful volcanic compounds.
2) Roman concrete contained no rebar, which rusts and causes cracks.
3) Roman structures weren't built to withstand vehicular stress.
4) Roman structures were overwrought and overengineered. If they had a budget, their structures would have gone way over.
5) We only see the structures that stood the test of time. Everything else has worn away.
So no. There is no mystery.
@@henriksjoblom It has more to do with the economy. When you find the ruins of the civilisation still standing millennia after the civilisation collapsed, the buildings are part of the reason why it was the civilisation that collapsed, instead of the buildings.
Don't go breaking my concrete....
I couldn't if I tried...
Wait, wasn't this what all the concrete in Wolfenstein: The New Order was made of? Or was it the biproduct that made it really destructible?
One of the biggest technical challenges we have left is carbon emissions from concrete production. Is there any way to deal with that other than carbon capture and sequestration?
We can power our grid with renewables, electric cars are up to the task, soon electric trucks will be, and electric trains are definitely feasible, those are all economics problems. But concrete production emits carbon, and we need to deal with that.
Amazing
Oh hi hank
Self repairing buildings. The Cylons are among us.
awesome!
What happens if some of the bacteria get out of the surface end of the cracks? Are they harmful?
This will be sweet for a mega strong skate park that could stand for millenia . Millenial Skeggs
Is this the secret of why Roman concrete is so strong
What doesn't eat you makes you stronger.
Hank is God
Quite an aggregate of rock and concrete puns in comments
It's good to see the community cement their bond with humor.
Maybe we can engineer bacteria to grow concrete structures by collecting materials from the environment.
Now I'm imagining grains of sand rolling over the sidewalk, being towed by groups of bacteria towards a building site.
This is pretty friggin cool :)
what if the bacteria over fills the cracks and now you have lumps of concrete/bacteria sticking out?
Well, I guess they'll be trained bacteria. Must be why it's so expensive, a college education don't run cheap.
Bob the Bacteria Builder