SCIENCE AS ART
(Thermoplastic) flower in the sun
Amber Hubbard, North Carolina State University, USA
Stimuli-responsive polymers have gained increasing attention for their applications ranging from soft robotic grippers to actuators. By controlling strain within thin thermoplastic sheets, these small grippers can transform into three-dimensional shapes based on a photothermal response and withstand loads >24,000 times their own mass.
A Second Place winner from the Science as Art competition at the 2020 MRS Spring Meeting.
Copyright for all Science as Art images belongs to the Materials Research Society. To request permission to re-use the images, please contact Anita Miller.