Nanotech Flexes its Muscle

Originally Published MDDI November 2002

NEWS & ANALYSIS

Scientists around the country are racing to create sleek little nanomuscles, minuscule devices that can be made from either shape-memory alloys or carbon nanotube fibers.

Historically, the problem with shape-memory alloys has been their unpredictable movement. Nanomuscle devices developed by NanoMuscle Inc. (Antioch, CA), however, utilize shape-memory alloy wires that allow nanomuscles to be stretched an additional 13% of their length with very little effort. The intended application for these devices is as a replacement for small linear motors in various industries, including medical.

On the opposite coast, researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Tsinghua University have developed a simple method for making continuous, hairlike strands of carbon nanotubes up to 8 in. long. These nanostrands could provide the first building block of highly effective actuators for artificial muscle.

And at the University of Texas at Dallas's NanoTech Institute, scientists are working with researchers worldwide to show that carbon nanotube fibers can provide ultrahigh strength while also storing energy, harvesting it, and converting electrical to mechanical energy. One application of this technology will be high-power, low-voltage artificial muscles that can operate at extremely high temperatures.

As with all nanotech wizardry, the trick with nanomuscles will likely be making the leap from the laboratory to commercial success in the marketplace.

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