SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
Now you can be both rubber and glue:
Rubber and steel are at different ends of the spectrum when it comes to hardness, and wherever an object falls on that scale is typically where it will stay. But researchers at the University of Michigan have now developed a metamaterial that can change the stiffness of its surface, from hard to soft and back, in response to a small amount of stress.
As artificial materials that can be finely tuned for a specific purpose, metamaterials can do some pretty incredible things that you won't find in nature. Interestingly, what they're made of doesn't seem to matter: instead, their attributes stem from their structure, and by manipulating that, engineers can develop metamaterials that could replace optic lenses, make objects effectively invisible, or create vehicle parts that are both very strong and very light.
The University of Michigan team says its new metamaterial specializes in switching its surface between hard and soft states. Applying a small amount of strain allows that stiffness to be changed by several orders of magnitude, without damaging or weakening the material itself.
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Wednesday January 25 2017, @10:05PM
Just fill the car body with that goop that is a liquid until squeezed or hit: I dunno... It's made with corn starch or something.
Once the accident is over, the dogs can come pick you clean!
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 25 2017, @11:01PM
You want it soft and squishy and able to absorb energy when an impact happens (rapid change).
You want it rigid the rest of the time.
A non-Newtonian fluid is the opposite of that.
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 25 2017, @11:17PM
Sadly your brain isn't made of that stuff so it would go splat against your skull. Maybe leak out your eye sockets? When are the Myth Busters going to do an episode on that. How much force would it take to expel your brain though your eyes?