This Antenna Bends but Won't Break
As engineers attempt to integrate electronics into things like clothing and medical devices, they're increasingly running up against the material properties of the substances we use to make the hardware. A lot of the materials that go into a typical electronic device are brittle, inflexible, and prone to damage, and materials scientists are looking at a variety of options for replacing them. A recent paper in Advanced Functional Materials describes a technique for forming an antenna from liquid metal. The resulting (not-so-) hardware is flexible, self-healing, and can change the frequency that it's sensitive to based on the stress it's subjected to. The idea behind the new work is pretty simple, as liquid metal is obviously going to be pretty flexible. It's just as obvious, however, that containing it is also going to be challenging. There are also a limited number of choices when it comes to metals that are liquid anywhere near room temperatures, and not all of those are viable options—nobody's going
This Antenna Bends but Won't Break
Injecting liquid metal into a polymer results in a twistable, stretchable antenna.
Sun 6 Dec 09 from MIT Technology Review
Shape shifters: Researchers create new breed of antennas
Antennas aren't just for listening to the radio anymore. They're used in everything from cell phones to GPS devices. Research from North Carolina State University is revolutionizing the field ...
Tue 1 Dec 09 from PhysOrg
Research Revolutionizing the Field of Antenna Design, Tue 1 Dec 09 from AZoNano
Featured - Shape shifters: Researchers create new breed of antennas, Tue 1 Dec 09 from Labspaces.net
Shape shifters: Researchers create new breed of antennas, Tue 1 Dec 09 from ScienceDaily
Flexible, self-healing antennae made from liquid metal
As engineers attempt to integrate electronics into things like clothing and medical devices, they're increasingly running up against the material properties of the substances we use to make ...
Wed 2 Dec 09 from Ars Technica
A Bendable, Stretchable, Shape-Shifting Antenna
New technology adds flexibility to wireless communications, and can passively monitor the integrity of bridges and other structures The large antennas that used to be part of our everyday lives ...
Tue 1 Dec 09 from Popular Science
Bendable Antennas Could Reshape Electronics
Engineers have built an antenna that can twist and stretch before snapping back to its original shape.
Mon 30 Nov 09 from Livescience
Shape-Shifting Antenna Opens Design Applications
Researchers from North Carolina State Univ. are creating antennas that open the door to new uses in fields ranging from public safety to military deployment.
Wed 2 Dec 09 from Laboratory Equipment
New Breed Of Antennas
Image Caption: The antenna consists of liquid metal injected into elastomeric microchannels. The antennas can be deformed (twisted and bent) since the mechanical properties are dictated by the ...
Tue 1 Dec 09 from RedOrbit
Total number of sources: 14
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