Last Updated on 06/09/2024 by Arun jain
Engineers have discovered a way to create super-strong stretchy metal that could enable the construction of shape-shifting aircraft. The new metal is an alloy made of titanium and nickel. It is as strong as steel, but it stretches like a rubber polymer.
The new material is not just like metal. It’s also glass-like, the engineers explain. It was created using a three-step process that allows the alloy to be both elastic and strong, even over a wide range of temperatures. The process begins by deforming the sample and then stretching it by about 50 percent, the engineers explain in a paper.
From there, the material is briefly heated to 300 degrees Celsius (572 degrees Fahrenheit) and stretched once more. However, the second time around, it stretches only by 12 percent. At the end of the process, the super-strong stretchy metal can withstand pressures up to 18,000 times normal atmospheric pressure. This strength is comparable to normal steel, and it can maintain those properties even in the temperature range of -80 degrees to 80 degrees Celsius.
Materials like this could be used for a variety of purposes, including the aforementioned shape-shifting aircraft, which can change the shape of its wings as needed to gain speed or slow itself down.
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Other possible uses may include Shape-shifting robotsWhich some scientists and engineers have tried to make in the past. Whether the metal will be useful anytime soon, however, is another question altogether. For now, engineers say a number of engineering questions will need to be addressed before it can actually become a reality.
you can Read more Journal about super-strong stretchy metal Nature.
Post Scientists have developed a new material that could lead to shape-shifting airplanes appeared first BGR.