Although most materials slightly expand when heated, there is a new class of rubber-like material that not only self-stretches upon cooling; it reverts back to its original shape when heated, all without physical manipulation.
Polymers
Feb 13, 2015
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Additive manufacturing – or 3D printing – is 30 years old this year. Today, it's found not just in industry but in households, as the price of 3D printers has fallen below US$1,000. Knowing you can print almost anything, ...
Engineering
Dec 19, 2014
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0
A development of three universities enables improved thermal and electronic properties on devices with nickel-titanium alloys.
Nanomaterials
Sep 23, 2014
1
0
For future astronauts, the process of suiting up may go something like this: Instead of climbing into a conventional, bulky, gas-pressurized suit, an astronaut may don a lightweight, stretchy garment, lined with tiny, musclelike ...
Engineering
Sep 18, 2014
10
1
(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 ...
Polymers
Jul 18, 2014
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0
A FAMU-FSU College of Engineering professor is using rays of light to control the shape of a special type of plastic, a project that could have long-term implications for manufacturing, solar energy harvesting, aerospace ...
Condensed Matter
Jul 3, 2014
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1
When the frame of a pair of glasses is bent out of shape, it's not that easy to return it to its original form. If, however, your spectacles are made of a shape memory alloy then you don't have a problem. Just place the frame ...
Engineering
Jun 12, 2014
2
1
(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 ...
Materials Science
May 13, 2014
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0
(Phys.org) —SLAC-led researchers have made the first direct measurements of a small and extremely rapid atomic rearrangement, associated with a class called martensitic transformations, that dramatically changes the properties ...
Nanophysics
May 2, 2014
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Texas A&M University researchers led by Dr. Xinghang Zhang in the Department of Mechanical Engineering have examined stress induced martensitic phase transformations in magnetic shape memory alloys via in-situ nanoindentation ...
Nanophysics
Apr 18, 2014
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