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Platinum Nanomuscles Developed
An anonymous reader writes "The Institut für Nanotechnologie in Duisburg 'reports in the latest issue of the Journal Science that they have been able to use a tiny electric charge to flex a piece of 'nanoporous' platinum - an artificial sandwich of platinum atoms riddled with tiny holes.
Nanomuscles weigh just one gram but can lift 140 grams, and are preferred to electric motors as they are far cheaper to produce: 50 cents each compared to US$300. They also make less noise and operate more smoothly. They could one day replace most small electric motors in toys, cameras and other devices.'"
That was the previous Nitinol technology.
The real drawback to the old Nickel-Titanium "muscle springs" was their lousy cyclic rate. Even with a fan on it, you couldn't get a spring with a 7 o.z., 1 inch throw to retract the distance it traveled in under 15 seconds. For most apps. this was just too slow. Now with less heat to bleed off and lower voltages, the cyclic rate could become useful. Motors with no brushes or bearings would be awefully useful in scads of gagets.
The application that springs to mind is in solar heating/cooling systems, where valves and pumps under computer control have piles of moving, rubbing parts could be replaced by parts that would work silently, and almost never wear out. Submersible pumps with no seals to erode would be nice too.
This is posted in the Science section. It won't show up on your main page, unless you set it to do so. You need to choose the option to collapse the sections (this will post all sections on the main page)
Just my 1/8th a penny.
We, the unwilling,led by the unknowing,are doing the impossible for the ungrateful.--Author Unknown
at a mass of one gram i very much doubt that we're anywhere near the kind of small scale necessary for quantum effects (which i presume are the "completely different set of physical laws" you speak of") to take effect in this technology. For such laws to take over would mean a decrease in the size of these muscles by many many orders of magnitude, something that, with their forseen purpose of replacing small electrical motors, i don't see being on the "roadmap" of nanomuscles, at least of this variety
"Hey brother Christian with your high and mighty errand / your actions speak so loud I can't hear a word you're saying"
Nanomuscles weigh just one gram... are far cheaper to produce: 50 cents.
Last time I checked, platinum costs about $20/gram
To flex, they require a large electrical current - up to 100 volts - which is then converted to heat energy.
"The article says it takes 100 volts to make one flex!"
What's amazing is that they say it takes 100 volts of current to get it going, and those aren't even in the same units!
Electronically illiterate points aside, if they meant 100 Amps of current, then ya, that's probably a lot of energy. Enough to kill. 30,000 Volts, though, can be easily produced by a simple 9V batter and a couple of voltage doublers, like in the case of a stun gun.
The fact that the article says that a lot of the energy is going to heat tells me that they probably really are pulling a lot of amps at a relatively large voltage. These things could double as a moving stove-top. Alright that was stupid..
As my gift to you, I'm gonna shut my mouth.
These news agencies should not let their reporters cover a science/tech related story if they cant grasp the basic concepts. They are just spreading their ignorence to the readers.
To flex, they require a large electrical current - up to 100 volts - which is then converted to heat energy.
Volts is not current! I can produce 100 volts easily from a small battery and an apprpriate circut, but not at sufficient current.
Efficient nanomuscles are in great demand because they can generate an enormous amount of energy for their weight and size.
They do not generate energy. They generate force.
Im not here now... Im out KILLING pepperoni