Self-healing metal? It’s not just the stuff of science fiction

Researcher Ryan Schoell of the US government's Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico uses a specialized transmission electron microscope technique developed by scientists Khalid Hattar, Dan Bufford and Chris Barr to study fatigue cracks at the nanoscale, on Nov 16, 2022. — Sandia National Laboratories/Handout via Reuters

WASHINGTON: In the 1991 film Terminator 2: Judgment Day, a malevolent time-travelling and shape-shifting android called T-1000 that was made of liquid metal demonstrated a unique quality. Hit with blasts or bullets, its metal would heal itself.

Self-healing metal is still just science fiction, right? Apparently not.