Magnetic Foam (IMAGE)

U.S. National Science Foundation

Magnetic Foam

Caption

The porous nature of nickel-manganese-gallium alloy gives it "shape-memory" properties. The material lengthens, or strains, up to 10 percent when subjected to a magnetic field. The NSF-funded researchers believe the porous alloy has great potential for uses that require light weight and a large strain, such as space and automotive applications and tiny motion control devices or biomedical pumps with no moving parts.

Credit

P. Müllner, M. Chmelius and S. Donovan, Boise State University, and D. Dunand and Y. Boonyoungmaneerat, Northwestern University.

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