User:An elite '92/Duct tape

Duct tape is a highly versatile pressure-sensitive tape, available in a variety of colors (in the UNSC, it is usually olive drab) for general repairs. It was used in World War II to repair most forms of equipment (although it was originally designed to seal ammunition cases) and in the years afterward, as a general-purpose repair material. It has improved significantly over the 600+ years that it has existed, most notably when the drawbacks of its adhesive were resolved.
 * High strength
 * Easy to use

Construction
Duct tape has always been made from 3 layers:

Adhesive
The adhesive is a synthetic carbon-based polymer capable of withstanding temperatures ranging from -150 oC to 1500 oC, a vast improvement over the rubber-based adhesive in the original tape which would become brittle at low temperatures and gooey at high temperatures. It is extremely sticky thanks to hydrocarbon branches that resemble gecko feet, but it requires greater pressure to stick than the original tape did, lessening the chance that two pieces of tape would stick adhesive-to-adhesive (a situation that rendered the original tape useless).

Mesh
In 1942, the mesh was cotton fiber, but in 2015, the tape incorporated Kevlar, and in 2301, woven carbon nanotubes supplanted the Kevlar. The mesh gives the tape very high tensile strength, but it is deliberately designed in such a way that an average human can tear a clean piece easily.

Sheath
The sheath consists of long polyethylene chains. When the tape was developed for World War II, the sheath was strong, but on a molecular scale, the chains were haphazardly arranged--the technology of the time did not permit any better. Gradually the sheath became more controlled until in 2335 it became layers of carbon chains along the length of the tape alternating with layers of chains across the tape, linked by vertical chains.

Uses
People have been finding new ways to use duct tape ever since it was introduced into the civilian market. At first it was used mainly for general-purpose and temporary repairs, but increasingly it has been used in situations where high reliability is necessary. It has been used extensively in spaceflight since it was first used in the emergency in the Apollo 13 mission in 1970.