Metafluid: The Programmable Liquid That Can Do It All

Thursday - April 11 2024, 07:38 UTC - 9 months ago

Harvard scientists have created a metafluid, a liquid made up of tiny, stretchy spheres that can deform under pressure, allowing it to change its properties and shape. This programmable liquid has endless potential applications, from robotics to optics.

We’ve all heard of materials that can do incredible things – metal alloys that wrap up leftovers or protect spacecraft, paints that change color with the push of a button, and digital displays that can transform into different images at will. But what if there was a material that could do it all and more? Enter metamaterials – a class of substances that are engineered at the structural level rather than the chemical level, giving them unprecedented properties .

And now, researchers at Harvard have created a metamaterial that actually flows and changes shape – a metafluid. In this article, we explore the potential of this incredible material and how it could revolutionize everything from robotics to optics.