Nanotubes strengthen artificial muscles

Mon, 07/16/2007 - 14:51 - NLN

Best known as the ultra-strong material that might one day form the cables of a "space elevator" capable of raising people into Earth orbit, carbon nanotubes also have a springy side. The discovery that nanotubes keep bouncing back after being compressed repeatedly means this exotic form of carbon may be just the thing to give artificial muscles some extra strength.

Engineers want to build artificial muscles -- actuators that change length in response to a stimulus -- because they create a smoother, more human-like motion than jerky electric motors or pneumatic devices. Such muscles would be used to power robots, prosthetic limbs and artificial tissue for implantation.

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