One of the biggest problems facing this planet
is how to get the energy we need at an affordable environmental and
economic cost.
Go to www.reachinginsight.com
to learn about this exciting and promising new technology. Be the first person
you know to have a working clean heat engine demonstration! Available now.
We are the long-time developers and wholesalers of Shape Memory Alloy products including
the popular Muscle Wire® products and kits.
What are Shape Memory Alloys? These unique metals made from combinations of two or
more elements, exhibit hardness and elasticity properties that change radically at
distinct temperatures. First observed in 1932 in a Gold-Cadmium alloy (expensive and
toxic), interest and research greatly expanded upon the discovery of a Nickel-Titanium
(lower cost and non-toxic) alloy in the 1960's.
After alloying and basic processing, SMAs can be formed into a shape
(for example, a coil spring), and then set to that shape by a high heat
treatment. When cooled, they may be bent, stretched or deformed (within
limits) and then with subsequent moderate heating (well below the
heat setting temperature), they can recover some or all of the deformation -
the move when heated!
Shape memory alloys have found use in everything from space missions
(Clementine, Pathfinder and many more) to floral arrangement (animated
butterflies, dragonflies and fairys), from arterial stents for restoring
blood flow to clogged arteries, to actuators for miniature robots. And
cell phone antennas, orthodontic braces and even eyeglasses use SMA
wires for their extreme flexibility.
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