Scratched cars and scuffed shoes could soon be no more than a bad memory.
不久的将来，不再会有被刮了的轿车和磨坏的鞋了。
Scientists have created a ‘self-healing’ plastic coating that smooths away marks and blemishes with seconds.
科学家们已经研制出能“自修复”的塑料涂层能够在几秒中内消除污点和痕迹。
What is more, it doesn’t seem to matter how many times an area is damaged – itcan be tricked into repairing itself time and time again.
更神奇的是，这种材料无论经历多少次损害都能重新修复，简直就是圣斗士星矢里的不死鸟啊。
This would make the ‘metallo-supramolecular polymer’a boon for motorists who have trouble parking, as well as for women who find they inevitably new shoeswithin hours of putting them on.
这个可给那些经常被刮碰的摩托车手和珍爱自己鞋子的女士们带了巨大的福音。
Handbags, furniture, windows, wooden floors, punctured tyres and even spectacles could all be made as good as new, sparing customers the time money and frustration involved in fixing cuts, scrapes and scuffs.
手袋、家具、门窗、木头地板、被扎破的轮胎，甚至眼镜都可以一直保持得像新的一样，省却了消费者花在修补上的时间金钱也消除了无法修好的那种挫折感。
The ‘ingenious and transformative’ plastic is made up of long chains ofhydrocarbons ‘glued’ together by tiny plugs of metal.
这种特殊的能变化的塑料是由长链碳氢化合物通过微细金属“胶”合而成。
When UV light is shone on it, the metal generates heat and the surroundingplastic melts – oozing into any scratches or scuffs.
当有紫外线照射到这种材料上，金属分子会产热从而使得附近的塑料成分融化，扩散到磨损的部分。
In tests, deep scratches made with a razor blade took less than a minute toclose up, the journal Nature reports.
《自然》杂志报道，在测试中，剃须刀片造成的刮痕在不到一分钟只能就修复了。
When the light was switched off, the plastic coating solidified again andappeared as good as new.
当结束紫外光照射后，塑料成分固化，从而完好如初。
The researchers have likened the process to the skin healing over a cut,leaving no trace of the injury.But in this case, there is no need forstitches and the transformation takes seconds rather than days or weeks.
研究者们把这种现象类比于我们肌肤在割伤后的自修复过程，只是现在只有几秒而不是几天甚至几个星期。
Professor Stuart Rowan, of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, said:‘What we have developed is a new plastic material composed of very small chainsthat stick together and assemble into much larger chains.
美国凯斯西保留地大学的Stuart Rowan教授说：“我们研究出的这种材料是有许多短链通过粘合而组装成很长的长链。”
‘What we have designed into
the material is the ability to disassemble onexposure to light.When it disassembles, the material flows into the crack andthe system gets healed.’
“我们设计的原理是当光照射到材料上会短链会从长链中分开，然后游离到破损处，从而到达修复。”
Working with military researchers and Swiss chemists, the professor showed thatthe same piece of material could be scratched and mended time and time againwithout any ill-effects.
Stuart Rowan教授也和军方以及瑞士的化学家有良好的合作，他们还发现这种材料可以反复修复，而没有任何不良作用。
He used a lamp similar to those used by dentists to cure fillings.But intime, car washes could be equipped with UV lamps, meaning that vehicles emergewith paintwork that is flawless, as well as polished.
他应用了一种类似牙医用来补牙的灯来提供紫外线。但同时，因为洗车行都配有紫外灯，所以也就意味着在洗车的同时就可以车自修复。
Although self-healing plastics have been developed before, most use powerfulblasts of heat to kick-start the repair process.
尽管以前有人研究过类似的自修复材料，但是都需要极高温度来启动修复程序。
Using UV light makes it faster, easier and more accurate.
利用紫外灯显然更快，更容易也更精准。
Researcher Mark Burnworth said: ‘By using light, we have more control as itallows us to target only the defect and leave the rest of the materialuntouched.’
研究员Mark Burnworth 说：“通过用这种紫外灯，我们能搞好地控制修复的范围，比如我们可以只照破损部分而不去影响其他的地方。”
In an accompanying article, Professor Nancy Sottos, a materials scientist from the US, said: ‘Tough, rubbery plastics have revolutionised consumer products ranging from simple bags and storage containers, to bladders and inner tubes in tyres, to protective coatings and linings.
在一片相关文章中，美国的材料科学家，Nancy Sottos教授说：“结实而坚韧的塑料已经对消费品产生了革命性影响，从简单的提包和贮藏罐，到玩具气球到轮胎内胆，再到有保护作用的外衣和衬里。”
‘Yet the materials used in these applications are highly susceptible to damagecaused by scratches cuts and punctures, which result in loss of function andcontents, contamination, safety hazards or just inconvenience.
“然而使用的材料在这些应用中是很容易被造成损害，刮划和穿刺都能导致功能丧失，内容物的丢失、污染、安全危险或只是不便。”
‘Damaged plastics are typically discarded in landfill, or in some casesrepaired with a manually applied patch.
“破损的塑料往往就扔到垃圾堆，有时可能手工补一补。”
‘Healable polymers offer an alternative to the damage and discard cycle andrepresent a first step in the development of materials that have much greaterlifespans than currently available materials.’
“自修复高分子材料提供了一个全新的模式能够改变损伤—丢弃的宿命，开创了研发拥有更长使用寿命材料的新时代。”
Edinburgh-born Professor Rowan said: ‘What you can imagine is a new paintcoating on your car that you can heal whenever someone rubs a key down the sideof it.
生于英国爱丁堡的Rowan教授说：“你可以想象，你现在有了一辆不再怕被钥匙刮花的车。”
‘Another one is that this could be a new varnish on a dining room table, whereif you got a scratch on your table it can be easily removed by simply shininglight on it.’
“或者不再怕磨坏的桌子，因为只有了划痕，用光找一下就OK了。”
No date has yet been set for the coating to go on sale.
还没有数据显示这种材料已经上市开卖了。
