Earlier this month, researchers at the University of California, Berkley, announced the development of a micro-sized robotic muscle that’s 1,000 times stronger than a human muscle.
Imagine chucking a 7,500-pound elephant over your head in the blink of an eye, and you’ll get some idea of the power of this new muscle, which can catapult objects 50 times heavier than itself in less than a second.
Scientists used a material called vanadium dioxide to create this super sinew that, when heated to 67 degrees Celsius, turns into a conducive metal, yielding huge amounts of strength in the process.
Granted, since the research is all focused on the micro-scale (much smaller than a millimeter), we won’t be seeing any green giants from the Marvel universe anytime soon.
“With its combination of power and multi-functionality, our micro-muscle shows great potential for applications that require a high level of functionality integration in a small space,” team leader Junqiao Wu said in a press release.