Slashdot Mirror
Artificial Muscles Pack a Mean Punch
sciencehabit writes "Here's a twist: Scientists have designed a flexible, yarn-like artificial muscle that can also pack a punch. It can contract in 25 milliseconds—a fraction of the time it takes to blink an eye—and can generate power 85 times as great as a similarly sized human muscle. The new muscles are made of carbon nanotubes filled with paraffin wax that can twist or stretch in response to heat or electricity. When the temperature rises, the wax melts and forces the nanotubes to contract. Such artificial muscles, the researchers say, could power smart materials, sensors, robots, and even devices inside the human body."
Does that mean getting rid of waste heat is going to be even more important?
What's the efficiency like?
I wonder if such a technology could be used in artificially enhancing the muscles of a person to make a super-human, or super-soldier. The chemistry can't be that complex, so I'm sure it's possible through bio-chemical engineering. I'd bet $100 that the US and others have done it before.
I'm thinking they'd have to reinforce the bones and joints as well. 85x stronger muscles are going to do some serious damage if the bones aren't reinforced.
Understanding the scope of the problem is the first step on the path to true panic.
If you want to rip your tendons in half, sure.
You'd have to completely replace the skeletal muscular system and integrate it with existing parts so it can handle the new tissue. And then there are the issues of skin abrasion, circulatory problems, self-healing...
Needless to say we won't be seeing superhumans anytime soon, at least not of this sort. You may see some kind of application in robotics or assisted lifting devices. Maybe in fifteen, twenty years if the technology proves feasible and robust enough you may see a powered armor.
In the book they had powered armoured suits. Three types were described: Grunt, Scout and Officer, with different capabilities.
In the movie-of-the-same-name-that-was-nothing-like-the-book, that would have been an expensive special effect, so they just had cheap plastic armour.
I'm guessing that wasn't on their radar screen...
How many cycles does the fiber last for? Human muscle regenerates itself, so it can cycle sorta indefinitely, right?