Molecules: You'd better learn to live with them.
Nitinol is an alloy of nickel and titanium. It can do some neat stuff:
Nitinol exhibits "shape memory" - which is an advertising-type name, really. This just means it's not permanently deformable below a critical temperature, above which it will "remember" its shape, upon cooling. For this reason, it's been called a "smart metal" and has been used in dentistry and orthodontia (gotta find something good to hold up to those caramels the kids keep eating...).
Travelling the rest of the week and back next Monday.
Physical Science
Comments
Spoonbender Uri Geller is reportedly very familiar with Nitinol.
Posted by: _Arthur | October 2, 2007 11:10 PM
Pretty sure my eyeglass frames are made of nitinol. You can tie them in a knot and they'll spring right back. I was wearing them when I had an accident that resulted in a concussion, and they didn't even need to be adjusted afterward.
Posted by: decrepitoldfool | October 2, 2007 11:36 PM
Nitinol is also used in stents.
The name is meaningful too: It's a NIckel TItanium alloy developed by the Naval Ordinance Lab - Nitinol.
Posted by: John Spevacek | October 4, 2007 11:59 AM
The shape memory of the alloy was discovered, in all places, a board room in 1960. A number of alloy samples were given to the board members who of course bent them. David Muzzey used his cigar lighter to heat the nitinol sample to see how it would behave.
Uri Geller probably does not like nitinol. He likes to bend spoons until they break.
I have heard that eyeglasses were made from nitinol. Do you ever have to heat them to get them to return to their shape?
Posted by: Jim | October 6, 2007 4:51 AM
this is really cool i'm gonna use this as my science report.
Posted by: maya | October 14, 2007 11:21 PM