Japan unveils material that "changes cosmology and medicine"

(NLĐO) - A research team from Tohoku University (Japan) has developed a metamaterial that could create breakthroughs in the production of future spacecraft and medical devices.

According to SciTech Daily , this new material is a super-elastic titanium-aluminum (Ti-Al) alloy that is both lightweight and strong.

It can maintain its exceptional elasticity over an unprecedented temperature range, from -269°C to +127°C, which is from the temperature of liquid helium to temperatures significantly higher than boiling water.

The Ti-Al metamaterial created by Japanese scientists - Photo: Sheng Xu

According to Associate Professor Sheng Xu from the Frontier Interdisciplinary Research Institute at Tohoku University, this is the first alloy that can maintain superelasticity over such an extreme temperature range.

These properties make it ideal for future space missions, such as creating super-elastic tires for rovers on the Moon or other planets, which have complex, unpredictable surfaces and extreme temperature fluctuations.

This will pave the way for expeditions requiring direct, targeted access to distant planets and moons, opening new doors for cosmology.

The alloy's versatility at extremely low temperatures makes it a promising material for many future green industries.

Additionally, this alloy can be used in devices requiring flexibility, such as medical devices – for example, stents.

Currently, most "shape-memory" alloys, meaning those with sufficient elasticity to regain their original shape after being subjected to force, are limited to certain temperature ranges.

The new Ti-Al alloy overcomes this limitation.

To create it, the research team used advanced techniques to create the precise microstructure, while optimizing processing methods, especially heat treatment, to achieve the desired material properties.

"This discovery not only sets a new standard for superelastic materials but also provides new principles for materials design, which will undoubtedly inspire further breakthroughs in materials science," said Associate Professor Xu.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/nhat-ban-ra-mat-vat-lieu-lam-thay-doi-vu-tru-hoc-va-y-hoc-196250303111515062.htm