Super-Strong Synthetic Muscles Developed

Too Hot! wrote to mention a BBC article about extremely powerful synthetic muscles. From the article: "The most powerful type, 'shorted fuel cell muscles' convert chemical energy into heat, causing a special shape-memory metal alloy to contract. Turning down the heat allows the muscle to relax. Lab tests showed that these devices had a lifting strength more than 100 times that of normal skeletal muscle. Another kind of muscle being developed by the team converted chemical energy into electrical energy which caused a material made from carbon nanotube electrodes to bend."

Comments

Geek progress

[Mattygfunk1]

Sure, the synthetic muscles could be used for helping the disabled and equiping special forces, but the bigger picture is the development of the first real Terminator. Now that's geeky progress!

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Re:Geek progress

[dynamo52]

Call me crazy but wouldnt it be easier just to apply electrical energy to begin with?

It is referring to the chemical energy of the fuel cells. All electrical energy derived from batteries is converted chemical energy

Get ready to kiss some shiny metal ass

[Anonymous Coward]

Scientists have developed artificial, super-strength muscles which are powered by alcohol and hydrogen.

I for one welcome our new Bender overlords.

BALCO?

[OffTheLip]

For some reason Barry Bonds comes to mind when I read the article subject. AS skewed as the sports playing field is now I shudder to think what things might be like once the 'designers' get a hold of something like this. The Tour de France in one day?

Yes, but...

[coffeechica]

I'm still trying to make up my mind to decide whether this is awesome or frightening. Both, I guess. Because there are so obviously enormous benefits. But on the other hand, when you've grown up on Marvel comics, then any mention of superhuman strength makes me wonder about the potential problems.

Fancy imagining that kind of technology in the hands of some warlord in a third world country somewhere? Or even in a normal army? I'm not sure it's something I really want to envision.

Should help the disabled

[Cybert14]

Meaning all of us. I hope we start abandoning our evolved bodies soon. What we'll become will make what we are now seem quite disabled.

Powered by alcohol

[Centurix]

At least these muscles won't suffer from Brewers Droop...

Powered by alcohol?

[Sir Pallas]

Just like all of the robots in the future. I'm sure it's not coincidence.

Yeah possibly but...

[Colin Smith]

I'm quite sure you've never had sex.

In the larger interests of mankind perhaps the government should fund sex therapy sessions for all potential mad scientists.

Re:End of the blue pill

[pimpimpim]

The corpora cavernosa is not a muscle!

What about our bones?

[skam240]

one of the problems with lifting weight of this kind is whether or not our skeletons can take it. the bones in your limbs can only support so much weight. it doesnt do you any good to have the strength to lift a car over your head if it will break the bones in your arms in the process.

it strikes me that some sort of skeletal reinforcement will be needed before this can be used to its fullest extent.

Re:What about our bones?

[Fred_A]

It definitely can't ; some people can already break their bones with their overdevelopped muscles.

Artificial muscles would definitely require skeletal reinforcement. Although I don't know if anyone has ever worked on this.

I'm not sure if those synthetic muscle can actually be implanted in a living organism either.

wow that's scary

[moochfish]

Scientists have developed artificial, super-strength muscles which are powered by alcohol and hydrogen.

This could take bar fights to a whole new level.

Re:wtf

[Eivind]

I'm hoping you're joking.

First, the human body is indeed effective, but not anywhere *close* to what you claim. The thing is, when you calculate the calorie-need for a certain activity, you typically do so by looking at a table. Say swim a mile in half an hour requires about X calories.

But those numbers are *already* calculated (or more likely measured) including the human inefficiencies.

Ever noticed you get warm and start sweating if you do heavy work ? That's waste heat for you baby.

If you pedal a bike, and generate 100W, you'll use significantly more than 25cal/s doing so (a calorie is about 4 Joule).

Second, producing "450 horsepower pro second" is a completely nonsensical statement. Horsepower (or KW) are measures of *power*, A car migth have 100 horsepower, you can measure it over a second, an hour or a year, it'll still have 100 horsepower.

It's a lot like saying you're 6 feet tall pro second, which makes no sense, unless perhaps you mean you *grow* at 6 feet pro second.

The article is dumb. 100 times as strong as skeletal muscle is a statement with no meaning unless you specify what exactly you mean;

• Is it 100 times as strong as a muscle of the same mass ?
• Is it 100 times as strong as a muschle of the same volume ?
• Do you mean it has 100 times the force ?
• Or 100 times the movement ?
• Or 100 times the power ? (i.e. force times movement)

BioEngineering

[haakondahl]

I have for some time wanted to write a story including a "car" powered by a V-8 engine which is organic above the crankshaft. I have done my little engineering studies of nutrient bath and circulatory systems, exhaust issues (I mean this thing shits all over the road) and such... I have so far envisioned genetically tuned muscles, grown in a vat (or what-have-you), but the synthetic muscles are interesting.
The problem is that I don't have a story there, just a neato idea. Not even characters. That doesn't stop many SF writers, unfortunately.