When you throw away a piece of plastic waste, what happens to it over time? Well, a lot of plastic waste breaks down into microplastics. Microplastics are tiny pieces of plastic.They are less than 5 mm in diameter (直径).This makes them very difficult to clean up.A group of Chinese scientists have invented a small type of robotic fish to clean up microplastics in the ocean. The robot's "secret weapon" is a layer (层)of mother-of-pearl. This material comes from clam(蛤蜊)shells. The robots are designed to absorb(吸收) microplastics while moving through the water.
These fish-shaped robots are only 1.5 cm long. They can travel fast underwater. They are made of a soft chemical compound. As they swim along, they pick up microplastics nearby. The tiny pieces then stick to them.
According to the researchers, the robots can take in different kinds of microplastics and even repair themselves when damaged. And if a robot fish is accidentally eaten by a real fish, it could safely digest the material, the team added.
The robots work well, but the scientists still want to improve them. The ideal versions will dive even deeper and remove larger amounts of microplastic waste from deep ocean areas. Besides that, they even say that similar robots could be developed to be placed inside the human body to remove unwanted materials or disease.
