Materials are getting ever smarter thanks to new technologies and new scientific findings. Smart materials adapt to new environmental conditions such as higher room temperatures, targeted mechanical loads or changes to pH levels. In this way, they augment the material’s range of features.
A mimetic polyalloy already enables smart materials to heal themselves. Metamaterials, which absorb light and electromagnetic radiation differently to natural materials, enable new possibilities in the production of lenses. What’s more, smart materials are not only more powerful but are often also cheaper to produce than their predecessors.