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New Alloy Bounces Back Into Shape 10 Million Times And Counting

Posted by timothy on from the bouncy-bouncy dept.

wrp103 links to the BBC's report of a newly engineered alloy that returns to its original shape after deformation even after 10 million cycles more than 10 million times. From the article: "Memory shape alloys" like this have many potential uses, but present incarnations are prone to wearing out. The new material — made from nickel, titanium and copper — shatters previous records and is so resilient it could be useful in artificial heart valves, aircraft components or a new generation of solid-state refrigerators." (Original article in Science Magazine.)

3 of 65 comments (clear)

  1. Sure, but tell us how many times by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Insightful

    after deformation even after 10 million cycles more than 10 million times.

    From the "bouncy-bouncy" department? I'd say it's from the Department of Redundancy Department...

  2. Re:Heart valves? Refrigerators? Pah! by SeaFox · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Did something change in the late '50s (like material or manufacturing laws) that resulted in poorer quality nibs after that point?

  3. Re:More needed to be used as a heart valve by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    They did testing of 10 million cycles and checked for fatigue in the metal - they found only negligible changes, that indicates the metal changes. So while 10 million is what has been tested, the results indicate that it should be able to continue on for a significantly higher number of cycles.