Chapter 1
The shapeshifting metals
Chapter 2
The self-healing metals
Chapter 3
The bio-hybrid bridge
Chapter 4
Nature's ironclad life
Ch 1 · The shapeshifting metals
007skaty FlexRAM Liquid Metal Memory
Liquid metal drops, / Oxidize to write, / Memory that bends.
007skaty US Naval Ordnance Laboratory researchers found this nickel and titanium alloy, whose temperature-triggered shape memory improves medical stents, braces, and glasses.
007skaty Unlike toxic mercury, safe gallium helps scientists print flexible, liquid circuit boards.
BETA
007skaty Melt and shape the living metal bots to discover how smart alloys remember their form.
Fun Fact
Gallium's expansion: Like water, gallium expands by 3.1% when it freezes from liquid back to solid, meaning it should never be stored in glass containers!
Glossary
nitinol (noun)
An alloy of nickel and titanium that exhibits shape memory and high elasticity. William Buehler discovered this alloy in 1959 while researching missile nose cones at the Naval Ordnance Laboratory.
An alloy of nickel and titanium that exhibits shape memory and high elasticity. William Buehler discovered this alloy in 1959 while researching missile nose cones at the Naval Ordnance Laboratory.
Quiz
Which common metal is chemically attacked and structurally destroyed when gallium touches it?