Self-Healing Artificial Muscles 90
Valor1016 writes "Researchers in California have developed an artificial muscle that heals itself and generates electricity. 'We've made an artificial muscle that, when you apply electricity to it, it expands, more than 200 percent, the motion and energy is a lot like human muscles,' said Qibing Pei, a scientist at UCLA and study author. The researchers used flexible carbon nanotubes as electrodes. If an area of the carbon nanotube fails, the region around it seals itself by becoming non-conductive and prevents the damage from spreading to other areas. This material also conserves about 70% of the energy you put into it. As the material contracts after an expansion the rearranging of the carbon nanotubes generates a small electric current that can be captured and used to power another expansion or stored in a battery. The research appeared in the January issue of Advanced Materials."
NOT Healing (Score:5, Insightful)
Typically, "healing" refers to repair of damage, not isolation of damage.
Question (Score:5, Insightful)
Well... Here comes a whole new round of PENIS (Score:3, Insightful)
Amazing! (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Better than the real thing (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Question (Score:4, Insightful)
In order to be biologically uselfull they will need to be pliant and flexible. If they are pliant and flexible they won't have the tensile strength to move bones around.
Re:Better than the real thing (Score:3, Insightful)
2) Well, that's why they're figuring out better production methods.
3) Er, biological muscles do need electricity too. Nervous system? Sodium-Potassium exchange?
Re:Nanotechnology is very interesting. (Score:4, Insightful)