(Phys.org) —Shape memory polymers are "smart" plastic materials that can be transformed into a temporary shape and then return to their original shape, triggered by an external stimulus such as heat or pressure. These polymers ...
(Phys.org) —Researchers from The University of Texas at Dallas and the University of Tokyo have created electronic devices that become soft when implanted inside the body and can deploy to grip 3-D objects, such as large ...
(Phys.org) —Not only rubber is elastic: There is also another, completely different form of elasticity known as superelasticity. This phenomenon results from a change in crystal structure and was previously only found in ...
(Phys.org) —Heating a sheet of plastic may not bring it to life – but it sure looks like it does in new experiments at Rice University.
(Phys.org) —Mechanical Engineering Professor Lih-Sheng (Tom) Turng has a simple office demonstration of how shape-memory polymers work. He takes the material, which is formed into a compact flower bud, drops the bud in a ...
Hydrogels are semi-solid materials formed by polymer chains that trap water molecules into three-dimensional gels. They are used in a variety of applications, including soft contact lenses, but the fragile nature of the materials ...
(Phys.org) —Researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder have successfully added a fourth dimension to their printing technology, opening up exciting possibilities for the creation and use of adaptive, composite materials ...
Ceramics are not known for their flexibility: they tend to crack under stress. But researchers from MIT and Singapore have just found a way around that problem—for very tiny objects, at least.
Bridges are a main component of the transportation infrastructure as we know it today. There are no less than 575,000 highway bridges nationwide, and more than $5 billion are allocated yearly from the federal budget for bridge ...
(Phys.org) —It's squishy, synthetic, flexible, mostly water and almost as tough as rubber. No, it's not "flubber"—it's a hydrogel, and now scientists at The University of Akron are exploring new biomedical uses for this polymer-based ...
