Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
Artificial Muscles Made From Carbon Nanotube Yarn
These "artificial muscles" made of carbon nanotube yarn can produce as much torque as an electric motor. This advance could lead to a variety of new applications.
(Artificial Muscles Made From Carbon Nanotube Yarn)
A scanning electron microscope shows
a 3.8-micrometer-diameter carbon
nanotube yarn
The twisty nanotube yarn could open up novel uses. It might help miniaturize electric motors, compressors, and turbines. Tiny pumps based on the rotating actuator could be integrated into lab-on-a-chip devices, which currently use large external pumps. "This is a fascinating new way to provide torsion," says Ray Baughman, director of the Nanotech Institute at the University of Texas at Dallas. Baughman led the work.In a paper published on the website of the journal Science today, the researchers show that the new yarn can spin a paddle 1,800 times heavier than itself at 590 revolutions per minute. They demonstrated how a simple device based on this concept could be used to mix two liquids on a microfluidics chip; in a fluid mixer, a 15-micrometer-wide yarn rotated a paddle that was 200 times wider and 80 times heavier than itself at up to one rotation per second.
Martin Caidin mentions the idea of artificial muscles in his 1972 novel Cyborg:
The artificial muscles.. which in this case are silastic and vitallium pulleys, then contract, twist, and tighten. Your arm should have on the order of ten times the gripping and handling strength you once had.
Via Technology Review.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 10/17/2011)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 0 )
Related News Stories - (" Robotics ")
PaXini Supersensitive Robot Fingers
'My fingers are not that sensitive...' - Ray Cummings, 1931.
Artificial Skin For Robots Is Coming Right Along
'... an elastic, tinted material that had all the feel and appearance of human flesh and epidermis.' - Harl Vincent (1934)
Robot Guard Dog On Duty
I might also be thinking of K-9 from Doctor Who.
Wearable Artificial Fabric Muscles
'It is remarkable that the long leverages of their machines are in most cases actuated by a sort of sham musculature...' HG Wells, 1898.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Bone-Building Drug Evenity Approved
'Compounds devised by the biochemists for the rapid building of bone...'
Secret Kill Switch Found In Yutong Buses
'The car faltered as the external command came to brake...'
Inmotion Electric Unicycle In Combat
'It is about the size and shape of a kitchen stool, gyro-stabilized...'
Grok Scores Best In Psychological Tests
'Try to find out how he ticks...'
PaXini Supersensitive Robot Fingers
'My fingers are not that sensitive...'
Congress Considers Automatic Emergency Braking, One Hundred Years Too Late
'The greatest problem of all was the elimination of the human element of braking together with its inevitable time lag.'
The Desert Ship Sailed In Imagination
'Across the ancient sea floor a dozen tall, blue-sailed Martian sand ships floated, like blue smoke.'
The Zapata Air Scooter Would Be Great In A Science Fiction Story
'Betty's slapdash style.'
Thermostabilized Wet Meat Product (NASA Prototype)
There are no orbiting Michelin stars. Yet.
Could Crystal Batteries Generate Power For Centuries?
'Power could be compressed thus into an inch-square cube of what looked like blue-white ice'
India Ponders Always-On Smartphone Location Tracking
'It is necessary... for your own protection.'
Amazon Will Send You Heinlein's Knockdown Cabin
'It's so light that you can set it up in five minutes by yourself...'
Is It Time To Forbid Human Driving?
'Heavy penalties... were to be applied to any one found driving manually-controlled machines.'
Replace The Smartphone With A Connected Edge Node For AI Inference
'Buy a Little Dingbat... electropen, wrist watch, pocketphone, pocket radio, billfold ... all in one.'
Artificial Skin For Robots Is Coming Right Along
'... an elastic, tinted material that had all the feel and appearance of human flesh and epidermis.'
Robot Guard Dog On Duty
I might also be thinking of K-9 from Doctor Who.
