Foldable Shape-Shifting 3-D Material Can Change Size, Volume And Shape
MessageToEagle.com – Scientists have created a new foldable, shape-shifting 3-D material that can change size, volume and shape. It can fold flat to withstand the weight of an elephant without breaking, and pop right back up to prepare for the next task!
This new material produced by Harvard researchers is versatile, tunable and self actuated.
“We’ve designed a three-dimensional, thin-walled structure that can be used to make foldable and re-programmable objects of arbitrary architecture, whose shape, volume and stiffness can be dramatically altered and continuously tuned and controlled,” said Johannes T. B. Overvelde, graduate student in Bertoldi’s lab and first author of the paper.
The structure is inspired by an origami technique called snapology, and is made from extruded cubes with 24 faces and 36 edges. Like origami, the cube can be folded along its edges to change shape. The team demonstrated, both theoretically and experimentally, that the cube can be deformed into many different shapes by folding certain edges, which act like hinges.
See also: ‘Artificial Trees’ Will Absorb Carbon Dioxide 1,000 Times More Effective Than An Regular Tree
The material can be embedded with any kind of actuator, including thermal, dielectric or even water.
This structural system has fascinating implications for dynamic architecture including portable shelters, adaptive building facades and retractable roofs. It works from the nanoscale to the meter-scale and could be used to make anything from surgical stents to portable pop-up domes for disaster relief.
MessageToEagle.com
References:
SEAS – Harvard
Related Posts
-
Three-Eyed Tuatara Is The Closest Living Relative To The Dinosaurs
No Comments | Jul 2, 2016
-
The Wonderfully Weird Crooked House – One Of The Strangest Buildings In The World
No Comments | Jul 14, 2012
-
Developing Fabrics That Change Shape When They Heat Up
No Comments | Feb 23, 2023
-
Making Clean Hydrogen Is Hard, But Now Major Problem Is Solved
No Comments | Jul 20, 2021
-
Engineers Help Artificial Intelligence To Learn More Safely In The Real World
No Comments | Dec 19, 2022
-
Rarest Blood Types On Earth – How Unique Is Your Blood?
No Comments | Apr 19, 2017
-
Inspiration From Spider Webs And Beetles To Harvest Fresh Water From Thin Air
No Comments | Aug 28, 2023
-
Mystery Of Doppelgangers And Spirit Doubles – From Ancient To Modern Times
No Comments | Sep 24, 2014
-
El Niño And Its Effects On The Planet
No Comments | Jan 10, 2016
-
Time Warp And Cloning Of Past Events – How Possible Is It?
No Comments | Dec 19, 2015