How hydrogels went from soft contact lenses to smart machines
SMRTR summary
Czech chemists Otto Wichterle and Drahoslav Lím invented the first synthetic hydrogel in the 1960s while trying to make comfortable contact lenses. That material, pHEMA, eventually evolved far beyond eye care, quietly becoming a building block for smart, responsive machines used in everyday life.
SMRTR provides this summary for quick context. The original article belongs to Interesting Engineering.
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