Material that is bendable in certain conditions

[alexsb92]

Hello everybody,

This is just a general question I have, and probably the title did a very bad job at explaining it, so here it goes. Is there any material that is available, or even if its still in research (as long as you have some links), that bends/flexes or contracts in certain conditions, like when electricity would be passed through it? I'm thinking of something very similar to human muscle fibers.

Any ideas?

[Bob S]

Look up Nitinol or shape memory alloy. It becomes soft and pliable at certain temperatures, and returns to its original shape at other temperatures. See

http://mrsec.wisc.edu/Edetc/cineplex/NiTi/index.html

Bob S

[timmay]

Try Googling both electroactive polymers and reverse piezoelectric materials.