Exotic metal knows 'transformations' back to the original shape no matter how deformed

As you know, how does the "twisting" metal piece suddenly "transform" into a paper clip? This is not a skill.

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The answer is simply due to the properties of a metal compound called Nitinol.

What is Nitinol that is amazing?

Nitinol is one of the most popular memory alloys (SMA), created by a combination of Nickel and Titanium.

In 1961 SMA was first discovered by William J. Buehler, an American researcher at the Naval Ordnance Laboratory (NOL) laboratory, so it was named Nitinol.

Nitinol in particular and SMA in general can "remember" the original shape before being deformed due to changes in the structure at the atomic level. This means that Nitinol can memorize the shape according to the law of transformation between phases, in which each phase is a change in the way the atomic structure is arranged.

Specifically with Nitinol, the alloy is heated up again to hot phase - austenitic and when cooled, it will turn to cold - martensitic phase.

If initially Nitinol is heated, transferred to austenitic phase and shaped, it will 'remember' this shape. When cooling - martensitic phase - no matter how bent or tangled, when heated, it still returns to its original shape.

That is also the principle of shape memory effect on metal being widely used.

Characteristics and application of Nitinol

1. Nitinol has electrical conductivity and has long durability with the impact so it is used for very good mechanical processing.
2. Nitinol has a very long durability and high resistance to corrosion due to the protective surface layer of titanium oxide.
3. Nitinol has toughness. Even if it encounters resistance in the process of returning to its original shape, this material will create a force large enough to overcome.

With such great advantages, Nitinol becomes the No. 1 material in applications to make medical tools such as orthodontics, creating filters, stents, bone anchors . Even in the future, This material can also replace stainless steel in this medical field.

In addition, Nitinol is also widely used in daily life, in the field of entertainment and of course, with science, the application of unique metals is also said to be boundless.