Engineers at the University of Texas have developed a gel- shaped artificial muscle , much stronger than steel, that could be used to create robots with superhuman strength .
The material is made of carbon nanotubes , and it is transparent, almost as light as air, elastic like rubber, and stronger than steel. In addition, when receiving an electrical stimulus, it can expand to triple its original size in just milliseconds. And all this at temperatures as low as -190 ºC or as extreme as 1700 ºC.
In the opinion of the Canadian engineer John Madden, who analyzes the invention today in the journal Science , the new material ” combines perfectly the properties of diamond and rubber band .” “It is an exciting example of how nanostructures can lead us to combinations of properties that are impossible with traditional materials,” he says. So in addition to artificial muscles for robots, Madden suggests that the new airgel could be used to create implants in the future. The dream of the bionic man is getting closer and closer.
