Morphing Metals 121
aarondubrow writes "Imagine a metal that 'remembers' its original, cold-forged shape, and can return to that shape when exposed to heat or a magnetic pulse. Like magic out of a Harry Potter novel, such a metal could contract on command, or swing back and forth like a pendulum. Believe it or not, such metals already exist. First discovered in 1931, they belong to a class of materials called 'shape memory alloys (SMA),' whose unique atomic make-up allows them to return to their initial form, or alternate between forms through a phase change."
just like 3D cinema (Score:4, Insightful)
Shape memory metals seem to come into the public consciousness every decade or so only to fade back into obscurity just as quickly.
Re:Really? (Score:5, Insightful)
They have this newfangled thing in America... its called Sillycon or something like that.
Re:News? (Score:3, Insightful)
Well, I guess if they straighten out with body heat, and you sit on them, you might be in for an unpleasant surprise...
Re:News? (Score:5, Insightful)
Someone who's education consists of Harry Potter novels just looked at a random Wikipedia article and realized you can do pretty neat stuff with science too. It's kinda cute, really, and we should be kind and supportive of this potential butterfly of wisdom just starting to emerge from the shell of ignorance.