Mechanical Metamaterials and Distance

 


Metamaterials do not occur in nature. They function like atoms, but have special optical, electrical and magnetic properties. Interactions between particles is important to the functionality of a metamaterial . Typically, a metamaterial could only interact with its direct neighbors. Researchers have developed a mechanical metamaterial that can be triggered into action at a distance.

Researchers at Karlsruhe institute of technology (KIT) have published their findings in the journal Nature Communications. 

Professor Martin Wegener at KIT’s institute of applied physics (APH) is working with a large group of scientists that have overcome a limitation of  metamaterials.

Dr Yi Chen is lead author of the study. He compares his work to a well-known “telephone game”. When individual people speak through a chain of people, the message received by the last person is quite different. The same principal can be applied to metamaterials.

Chen explaines, “ The material we designed has special structures. With these structures, individual components, no longer ‘communicate’ Only via their neighbors with components further away, now they can also communicate directly with all other components in the material.”

Ke Wang is a co-author of the study and is also from APH. He reports, “ These structures give the material fascinating properties,  such as unusual stretching characteristics.”

The scientists used micron size samples created by 3-D laser printing and a camera equipped microscope. The camera showed a one dimensional beam. It’s stretched in an asymmetrical  manner when pulled to each end. It’s the opposite of how a rubber band works, Which stretches evenly when manipulated. The metamaterial Displayed compression in certain places. Other sections were stretched a lot longer, Even though the force was the same.

Jonathon Schneider is another co-author, also with APH. He reports, “ This unusual behavior with locally occurring stretching and compression is impossible in conventional materials. Now we will investigate this in two dimensional (planar) and three dimensional materials.”

One useful property of this material is that it’s extremely sensitive to loads. Completely different reactions can occur, depending on the location of the force, even at distant points. Reactions are only seen directly where the force is applied. Only weak interactions are pinpointed at distant locations.

A material with this type of sensitivity could be used in a large variety of scientific fields in the very near future. 

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