An artist’s rendering of a futuristic plane with morphable wings
AFRL / NASA
An alloy of titanium and nickel is as sturdy as metal however stretches like a rubbery polymer. With some intelligent engineering, it might ultimately result in applied sciences like shape-shifting plane.
Think about a airplane with lengthy wings that contract in midair to grow to be shorter – and make the craft extra aerodynamic – because it positive factors pace. To make this futuristic know-how, engineers would wish a cloth that’s stretchy sufficient to vary form but sturdy sufficient to face up to the weather throughout flight. Xiaobing Ren on the Nationwide Institute for…
