R12 Integration of smart and modern materials
Initial skills rating **
September 2011
I came across smart materials whilst working at Tanbridge House school. I have played with Polymorph and UV sensitive beads. I have experimented with a variety of pigments added to paint but I couldn’t give you a definition of a smart material. Addressing this issue needs to be my first step towards developing my knowledge.
In preparation for our plastics presentation I took a look into smart materials starting with a definition.
A smart material is:
1. A material where one or more properties can be significantly changed in a controlled fashion by external stimuli such as temperature, electric currant, light, moisture,
2. These changes must be both reversible and repeatable many times.
So there………. now I know…..as simple as that.
My next step was to look for practical examples of everyday use of smart materials. I didn’t have to look very far. I knew some thermometers used thermochromic strips but I hadn’t made the link to the electrically sensitive strip on the side of some batteries.
I am sure there must be a lot of other products we are familiar with and I would like to look deeper into this when I have a bit more time. I always think it is good if I you can relate to something you know or are familiar with.
My final stage of research at this stage was to consider the future of plastics.
I came across an interesting article on the internet written five years ago about the invention of a programmable plastic that can be deformed and temporarily fixed in an instant by light of a specific wavelength. These plastics only revert back to their original shape when exposed to light of a different specific wavelength.
The article suggested the potential for the future of such a plastic within the medical industry. Whereby through minimally invasive surgery a thread of plastic could be passed through a tiny incision and when activated by light via a fibre optic probe, that slender string may change into a corkscrew shaped stent for keeping blood vessels open.
WOW this is so interesting!
I decided I wanted to read the original article. When I went back to the website I discovered the article had been published five years ago. I decided it is probably not worth chasing such an old article. My time would be better spent reading more up to date developments.
I am not familiar with journals. I must learn a bit more about them, where to find them etc.
My final stage of research at this stage was to consider the future of plastics.
I came across an interesting article on the internet written five years ago about the invention of a programmable plastic that can be deformed and temporarily fixed in an instant by light of a specific wavelength. These plastics only revert back to their original shape when exposed to light of a different specific wavelength.
The article suggested the potential for the future of such a plastic within the medical industry. Whereby through minimally invasive surgery a thread of plastic could be passed through a tiny incision and when activated by light via a fibre optic probe, that slender string may change into a corkscrew shaped stent for keeping blood vessels open.
WOW this is so interesting!
I decided I wanted to read the original article. When I went back to the website I discovered the article had been published five years ago. I decided it is probably not worth chasing such an old article. My time would be better spent reading more up to date developments.
I am not familiar with journals. I must learn a bit more about them, where to find them etc.
Lance, Peter and I did our presentation on Smart materials today. I had acquired samples of Polymorph for our class to experiment with. They instantly became very engaged and started to experiment.
Lance had got ahead of me, handing out materials. I had expected to talk my classmate through the Polymorph experiment, instead Lance was adding granules to their hot water whilst I was still talking about smart materials. A communication fault between Lance and I had put me in a position where I needed to improvise.
I broke off from what I was saying to talk them through the transition that was already taking place. I didn’t know where we stood for time and I didn’t know when to move on. Luckily Bhav offered guidance ‘Let them play they are learning’. What a lovely way to think about it. I absolutely loved watching everyone play, their enthusiasm for something new was delightful. I really felt they were engaging with what we had to offer.
After a couple of questions Bhav suggested I continued with the presentation. I think it was about now a few people had sat back in their chairs ready to move on.
Lance had got ahead of me, handing out materials. I had expected to talk my classmate through the Polymorph experiment, instead Lance was adding granules to their hot water whilst I was still talking about smart materials. A communication fault between Lance and I had put me in a position where I needed to improvise.
I broke off from what I was saying to talk them through the transition that was already taking place. I didn’t know where we stood for time and I didn’t know when to move on. Luckily Bhav offered guidance ‘Let them play they are learning’. What a lovely way to think about it. I absolutely loved watching everyone play, their enthusiasm for something new was delightful. I really felt they were engaging with what we had to offer.
After a couple of questions Bhav suggested I continued with the presentation. I think it was about now a few people had sat back in their chairs ready to move on.
I wish I had taken some pictures of everyone as they investigated Polymorph or the things they made. Pictures are a wonderful memory aid and a good record of progress. Something to remember for the future, though I do appreciate permission has to be obtained to take photographs especially images which allow people to be identified.
18th November 2011
I came across a few more smart materials today at the NEC D&T exhibition, Birmingham.
This amazing thermochromic smart cord is meant to change colour with body heat but didn’t seem to do anything for me. Also when it is stretched it suddenly changes cross section and becomes stronger rather than weaker.
I was also able to ask questions here, well by writing a note anyway, to establish why the Black light paint I had bought when I was working as a technician did not produce colour for me. I was told to expose the paint to a white UV light and then the paints would show there individual colours. But if you are exposing the paint pigment to UV it is not really light that shows its colour in black light, a bit misleading to me.
They had solar active threads on the stand as well. Unfortunately there was no daylight to activate them. What a shame if they had set up a daylight bulb on their stand we could have seen these threads and UV sensitive beads working.
19th November 2011
I want to investigate the thermochromic thread further.
Taking my sample from my bag, with my nicely warmed hands I was pleased to see the colour disappear from the strand. Ah body temperature but not for someone with Reynaud’s syndrome unless they have just crawled out of bed. I have the same problem with sheets of liquid crystal. I think this is something worth remembering when teaching. Either look for the kids with those warm sweaty hands to demonstrate the properties of colour changing materials sensitive to body heat or divide the class into those warm enough to change the colour and those that cannot despite what the packet says.
If you just plough ahead assuming this material works for everyone I bet some students will get left behind, confused as to why it has not changed colour, losing interest and missing the valuable insight into this amazing material.
To balance the lesson those with cold hands could demonstrate what happens when they try to pull the material apart, before letting a whole group experiment for themselves.
Or you could ask who in the class successfully changed the colour and who didn’t and see if the students can work out why. That would be better, get their brain cells working.
The next step to my home experiment was to cut thin strips from a plastic carrier bag and pull them apart in the same way as the thermochromic chord. I was expecting to see the strips narrow before breaking and they did but what I was surprised to feel beneath my fingers was the increase strength as the polymers aligned, just as they had for the thermochromic chord.
I came across a few more smart materials today at the NEC D&T exhibition, Birmingham.
This amazing thermochromic smart cord is meant to change colour with body heat but didn’t seem to do anything for me. Also when it is stretched it suddenly changes cross section and becomes stronger rather than weaker.
I was also able to ask questions here, well by writing a note anyway, to establish why the Black light paint I had bought when I was working as a technician did not produce colour for me. I was told to expose the paint to a white UV light and then the paints would show there individual colours. But if you are exposing the paint pigment to UV it is not really light that shows its colour in black light, a bit misleading to me.
They had solar active threads on the stand as well. Unfortunately there was no daylight to activate them. What a shame if they had set up a daylight bulb on their stand we could have seen these threads and UV sensitive beads working.
19th November 2011
I want to investigate the thermochromic thread further.
Taking my sample from my bag, with my nicely warmed hands I was pleased to see the colour disappear from the strand. Ah body temperature but not for someone with Reynaud’s syndrome unless they have just crawled out of bed. I have the same problem with sheets of liquid crystal. I think this is something worth remembering when teaching. Either look for the kids with those warm sweaty hands to demonstrate the properties of colour changing materials sensitive to body heat or divide the class into those warm enough to change the colour and those that cannot despite what the packet says.
If you just plough ahead assuming this material works for everyone I bet some students will get left behind, confused as to why it has not changed colour, losing interest and missing the valuable insight into this amazing material.
To balance the lesson those with cold hands could demonstrate what happens when they try to pull the material apart, before letting a whole group experiment for themselves.
Or you could ask who in the class successfully changed the colour and who didn’t and see if the students can work out why. That would be better, get their brain cells working.
The next step to my home experiment was to cut thin strips from a plastic carrier bag and pull them apart in the same way as the thermochromic chord. I was expecting to see the strips narrow before breaking and they did but what I was surprised to feel beneath my fingers was the increase strength as the polymers aligned, just as they had for the thermochromic chord.
If I refer back to the definition of a smart material being one that has: a) One or more properties can be significantly changed in a controlled fashion by external stimuli and b) this process must be repeatable.Then only property here that changes repeatedly is the colour therefore the property of increased strength is not attributable to the definition of a smart material. I will accept however that the temporary change in colour as the smart chord is stretched is due to heating perhaps by friction as the molecules move around.
When I read the information sheet it says ‘the smart cord exhibits highly unusual behaviour if stretched. I challenge this as my carrier bag behaved in the same way.What is more my plastic bag has a direction. I need to find out more about molecular structures to understand what is happening. Why do the colours change in thermochromic materials?
I must take the time to look through their catalogue of Smart materials but I do think some of the sales pitch is a little misleading
New materials
http://www.newmaterials.com/Customisation/Companies/Dow_Construction_Chemicals.asp
In my search for new and future developments in design and technology I came across this website which has daily updates on new materials. Although articles are often short they do have links to connected sites should you wish to learn more. Even if you stop here it is enough to know what is going on in the world of new materials. Just one site carries many links to several areas involved in the progress and development of new materials.
In my search for new and future developments in design and technology I came across this website which has daily updates on new materials. Although articles are often short they do have links to connected sites should you wish to learn more. Even if you stop here it is enough to know what is going on in the world of new materials. Just one site carries many links to several areas involved in the progress and development of new materials.
26th March 2012
Polymorph to the rescue
There is a limit to how many times I can watch my husband eating his dinner and drop his knife before I do something about it and tonight is the night. My husband has multiple sclerosis and is currently experiencing a lesion that is affecting the fine motor skills controlling his right hand. He can no longer hold an ordinary pen and keeps dropping his knife when trying to eat.There is no way he will let me feed him but the sight and sound of the knife hitting the plate is driving me a little crazy. I have been watching him for days and the situation is getting worse. I am sure if the handle of the knife was thicker he would be able to hold it.
I grabbed a knife from the kitchen drawer and reached for the Polymorph to mould a handle to his grip. We talked about putting a flat piece of acrylic on top of the blade or an H section that would fit over the knife and leave a 'u' shape for his finger.I roughly flattened the semi-melted Polymorph and wrapped it around the handle. I was only trying to see if I was using enough Polymorph and thinking about shaping but my husband was so keen he wrapped his hand around the rough shape. By applying a little pressure to his fingers we were able to make a perfect model of his grip. He was so pleased with the results he would not give the knife back so that i could soften the Polymorph thoroughly which would get rid of the little nodules and remould the handle with a little more attention to finishing.
I will have to buy some more knives and Polymorph if I want to make any more. I think I will see how we get on with this one. It has occurred to me this knife must not go in the dish washer for I think it may melt and ruin the dish washer.
The design needs refining. At the moment food could get trapped at the end where the blade goes into Polymorph handle. I am concerned it is not very hygienic but then again nor is dropping your knife on the floor.
Why stop there?
Earlier in the evening my husband had been telling me he was trying to find a writing aid to help him hold a pen. With the Polymorph to hand and one success under my belt I thought I would analyse how he holds a pen and see what I could design. This one was a bit trickier. Not only are his fine motor skills impaired but he is also experience involuntary muscle movements. His fingers are doing strange things without him being conscious of their movement For example, his fingers will suddenly curl up behind the pen or straighten and go rigid.
I think that he not only needs the pen to be thicker but he also needs something to restrain his fingers.
I think that he not only needs the pen to be thicker but he also needs something to restrain his fingers.
Air shield coffee cup sleeve
13th April 2012
Oh will you look at these. A smart material that reacts to heat so when the cup is filled with hot liquid the petals expand. With an air filled cushion between you and the cup your hand is prevented from burning. As your drink cools down the petals flatten out and being a smart material you can use them over and over again. I think this is a really good, practical,innovative application of a smart material.
I found this design after a Goggle search for images of 'conceptual self heating cups' which of course it is not. The website did not inform the reader that it was made from a smart material or that it could be used over and over again. In fact the web page said the sleeve reacted to heat and cold which is not strictly true. It doe react to heat but can you really say as its temperature returns to ambient it is reacting to cold. I think if I did not have a clear understanding of how smart material behave I would have found this write up confusing.It is so cute!
I found this design after a Goggle search for images of 'conceptual self heating cups' which of course it is not. The website did not inform the reader that it was made from a smart material or that it could be used over and over again. In fact the web page said the sleeve reacted to heat and cold which is not strictly true. It doe react to heat but can you really say as its temperature returns to ambient it is reacting to cold. I think if I did not have a clear understanding of how smart material behave I would have found this write up confusing.It is so cute!
QTC pills
21st April 2012
QTC or rather Quantum tunnelling compound is a new material that is an insulator (that means it does not conduct electricity) until it is compressed. One compressed it is a highly conductive material that is used to complete electrical circuits. QTC pills although sold as tiny little squares actually arrive as a strip. Although I understand it is available in sheet form I could not locate a supplier.
QTC or rather Quantum tunnelling compound is a new material that is an insulator (that means it does not conduct electricity) until it is compressed. One compressed it is a highly conductive material that is used to complete electrical circuits. QTC pills although sold as tiny little squares actually arrive as a strip. Although I understand it is available in sheet form I could not locate a supplier.
The future looks different
July 2012
With the development of Nano technology and new materials the products we know are about to change. New materials and new technologies lead to new designs. Take a look at the concept cars of the future, they get closer to reality everyday. How exciting is that?
With the development of Nano technology and new materials the products we know are about to change. New materials and new technologies lead to new designs. Take a look at the concept cars of the future, they get closer to reality everyday. How exciting is that?
Oct 26th 2012
The Different Dimensions of Nanomaterials
Nanomaterials are those that have structural components that have at least one dimension less than 100 nanometers. Nanomaterials have different dimensions, the single or one dimension, double dimension or two dimension, and three dimension nanomaterials. Examples of nanomaterials with different dimensions are the following:
One Dimension
Read more: http://nanogloss.com/category/nanotechnology/#ixzz2AXIqRWuZ
Nanomaterials are those that have structural components that have at least one dimension less than 100 nanometers. Nanomaterials have different dimensions, the single or one dimension, double dimension or two dimension, and three dimension nanomaterials. Examples of nanomaterials with different dimensions are the following:
One Dimension
- Surface coatings
- Engineered surfaces
- Thin films
- Carbon nanotubes or CNT
- Inorganic nanotubes
- Biopolymers
- Nanowires
- Quantum dots
- Nanoparticles
- Fullerenes or carbon 60
- Dendrimers
- Precipitates
- Colloids
Read more: http://nanogloss.com/category/nanotechnology/#ixzz2AXIqRWuZ
Nanotechnology
in search of a god YouTube to demonstrate the effects nanotechnology are having on the world of materials i came across this video. It is too long for me to use in a lesson plan for my assignment and does not show existing metals but what is done do is give a fantastically clear understanding of what Nanotechnology is and the impact it is likely to have on our world. It tells us we are on the brink of a nano revolution. We already use nano technology for building aircraft parts and surface engineering on materials. Computers made from thin films of nano materials are already being developed. i am sure one day they will exist as commonly as mobil phones. How exciting is all this. I am so glad i have learned to surf the internet to continue my education in the world of technology