Summary: Nanotubes strengthen artificial muscles - tech - 14 July 2007 - Ne... http://technology.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn12262&print=true
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Nanotubes strengthen artificial muscles
11:37 14 July 2007
NewScientist.com news service
BEST known as the ultra-strong material that
might one day form the cables of a "space
elevator" capable of raising people into Earth
orbit, carbon nanotubes also have a springy
side. The discovery that nanotubes keep
bouncing back after being compressed
repeatedly means this exotic form of carbon
may be just the thing to give artificial muscles
some extra strength.
Engineers want to build artificial muscles -
actuators that change length in response to a
stimulus - because they create a smoother,
more human-like motion than jerky electric

Source: Ajayan, Pulickel M. - Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Rice University

Collections: Materials Science