Science has developed a magnetic ink that’ll keep your electronics healthy

The last time I broke my laptop, I immediately rushed it to the Apple Store because well, what could I really do to fix it besides that? While more and more of us rely on technology to ease our days, there’s still that panic when something goes wrong. But what would it be like to live in a future where as soon as, say, your phone breaks, it automatically repaired itself?

That future is closer than ever, thanks to researchers at the University of California, San Diego.

First covered in the New York Times, an engineering lab team at UCSD is developing magnetic ink that, when torn apart, links back together. As wild as that sounds, in reality, the effect is quite understated, as we can see in this sample video provided:

Right now, this study has a limited focus on wearable tech incorporated with fabrics, probably because the magnetic ink can’t repair larger surfaces yet. But the UCSD team is working to expand the capabilities of this ink to eventually incorporate larger electronics. Could you imagine a world where you just slather your laptop or phone or virtual reality station (I’m thinking ahead here) in magnetic ink to repair a cracked screen? A jammed sensor? Some other contraption that I can’t even fathom yet?

Well, that’s still a bit of a ways off then. And while magnetic ink can’t fix every kind of electronics disaster…

…it can hopefully make tech repairs of the future much easier and less panic-inducing. Yes, please.