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KF5JRV > TECH 18.07.19 11:58z 11 Lines 1334 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 10811_KF5JRV
Read: GUEST
Subj: Artifical Muscles
Path: HB9ON<IW2OHX<IR2UBX<F1OYP<ON0AR<VE2PKT<N3HYM<KF5JRV
Sent: 190718/1156Z 10811@KF5JRV.#NWAR.AR.USA.NA BPQ6.0.18
A team of scientists figured out a surprisingly simple way to create musclesthat can lift 1,000 times their own weight: they tightly coiled-up commonlyfibers from bamboo or silk. By applying or removing heat or electrochemicallyaltering it, they found that they could contract and relax the artificialmuscles, much like biological ones.
The hope is to use these fiber muscles in prosthetic limbs, exoskeletons, oreven weave them into special performance clothing that can become more porousas it’s reacting to heat from the wearer.
In a paper published in the journal Science today, the team of researchersclaim the synthetic muslces’ “gravimetric work capacityö is 60 times higherthan that of skeletal muscles in animals.
Previous experiments by a team led by Ray Baughman from the University of Texasexplored the same principle with other materials including fishing line, andsewing thread in 2014. But these newest artificial muscles are even stronger,while using even cheaper materials.
Still, much work remains. Only roughly three percent of energy is actuallyabsorbed by the fibers when heat is applied to them. But their simple designand extremely inexpensive construction could be a boon for future nanofibretechnologies and artificial limbs.
73, Scott KF5JRV
Pmail: KF5JRV @ KF5JRV.#NWAR.AR.USA.NA
Email: KF5JRV@GMAIL.com
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