Extreme cold is merciless on machinery. Fluids thicken to useless goo. Rubber seals stiffen and crack.
Whether wriggling your toes or lifting groceries, muscles in your body smoothly expand and contract. Some polymers can do the same thing—acting like artificial muscles—but only when stimulated by dangerously high voltages. ...
Aramid fiber is known as "super fiber," or "golden silk," because even though its weight is equivalent to only 20% of the weight of steel, it is more than five times as strong and does not burn, even at 500°C. Aramid fiber ...
Alloys that can return to their original structure after being deformed have a so-called shape memory. This phenomenon and the resulting forces are used in many mechanical actuating systems, for example in generators or hydraulic ...
Classical robots, such as those used for manufacturing, can lift heavy loads and repeat automated processes precisely. But they are too rigid and bulky for delicate work and interaction with humans. The research field of ...
The robotic bee replicants home in on the unsuspecting queen of a hive. But unlike the rebellious replicants in the 1982 sci-fi thriller Blade Runner, these ones are here to work.
Materials scientists are often inspired by nature and therefore use biological compounds as cues to design advanced materials. It is possible to mimic the molecular structure and functional motifs in artificial materials ...
How seeds implant themselves in soil can seem magical. Take some varieties of Erodium, whose five-petalled flowers of purple, pink or white look like geraniums.
Integrative actuators and sensors within a single active device offer compelling capabilities for developing robotics, prosthetic limbs, and minimally invasive surgical tools. But instrumenting these devices at the microscale ...
How do you build complex structures for housing cells using a material as soft as Jell-O? Rice University scientists have the answer, and it represents a potential leap forward for regenerative medicine and medical research ...
