New Shape-Shifting Polymer Holds 1,000 Times Its Own Mass - Watch Out Plastic Man! (techtimes.com)

University of Rochester researchers have announced the development of a new polymer, capable of supporting 1,000 times its own mass. Polymers that can change shape when heated have been developed in the past, yet this new polymer exhibits the rare quality of becoming flexible when exposed to body heat. This property, which can be used to change the shape of a device, could make the substance useful in medical applications. When the new polymer is removed from the heat source (such as human body), the material immediately returns to its original configuration.

Comments

Medical applications?

[tlambert]

Medical applications?

"How did the poor bastard die?"

"He was out skiing, and his artificial kidney reverted to its original shape, a spiky brick."

Re:Medical applications?

[WarJolt]

The target application is clearly breast implants. It certainly will give a whole new meaning to it's feeling a bit nipply out there.

Re:Medical applications?

[Adriax]

M&M polymer implants. Melts in your mouth, not in your hand.

"Medical" applications...

[Anonymous Coward]

Fleshlight :)

Capable of Supporting 1000 times its own mass?

[Irate Engineer]

What the fuck does that mean?

1 sq. inch (sectional area) of cheap steel can support 36,000 lbs in tension without yielding.

A 1 inch cube of steel weighs 0.29 lbs and can support 36,000 lbs, so that's 124,000 times!

This raises a red flag that whoever wrote this doesn't really get mechanics.

Re:Capable of Supporting 1000 times its own mass?

[wonkey_monkey]

I'm pretty sure a supermarket plastic bag could hold nearly 1000x its own mass - certainly within an order of magnitude, at the very least. And those are made out of a polymer too!

They even shape-shift, crinkling up into a little blob if you set them on fire. They won't shape shift back again, admittedly...

Re:Capable of Supporting 1000 times its own mass?

[the_povinator]

The idea of a substance being able to support 1000 times its own mass is meaningless and betrays a lack of understanding of physics and engineering.

There is no sensible interpretation of this statement. I don't even know where to begin in explaining why it's meaningless. It has a kind of mismatch of dimensions.

Body heat makes it malleable

[Mostly a lurker]

I did RTFA, but am still confused. It seems a major advantage is that the polymer returns to its original shape when heat is removed, but just normal body heat allows it to be molded into other shapes. In a medical setting, how does it return to the original shape given that it is presumably installed in an environment with a temperature at or near body heat? Also, body heat is not that hot. In non medical applications, what is a range of temperatures where it will retain its strength and resist going out of shape?

The real link

[OzPeter]

University of Rochester Body heat triggers shape change in new type of polymer

The real source even has video

Re:The real link

[Kohath]

So this article says the opposite of the summary: the material reverts to it's original shape when body heat is applied. That sounds more useful for medical applications.

The summary speaks of a material that loses it's original shape as body heat is applied (and presumably regains it once it cools down). That sounds less useful.