[Jon]

Interesting new patent from GM. It's listed as "morphable body moldings, rub strips, and bumpers".

GM is using a "shape memory” alloy, which expands when heated, to remove minor dents, and claims to have had best results with an alloy of nickel and titanium that changes state at around 70°C. The alloy is mixed with filler particles of electrically conductive carbon, so that feeding a current through the material makes it heat up and rapidly change shape.
The alloy could be placed along the edge of a car door, an area that often suffers knocks as people climb in and out. When the door opens, a low current would flow through the strip, making it expand slightly. As it closes again, the current switches off, cooling the strip down. Should the door have suffered a bump, the expanding alloy ought to absorb any dents as it shrinks back to normal.

The patent is listed at this link: http://www.wipo.int/ipdl/IPDL-CIMAGE...IME=1128789019

[willys36@aol.com]

Can Christine be far away????

[NXS]

No doubt & factor that in with the darpa challenge....


Anybody that has played the video game metal Gear Solid will know about DARPA

[dmc12mk3]

Shape memory allows (Ni Ti mixes) have been around for several years. My other passion is robotics and its long been used for low torque compact walking critters and the like. They also used it for eye glasses at one point. A friend of mine in high school had a pair. You could bend the frame however you wanted and so long as it didn't get heated to 250 degrees F, it would just return to its original shape.

Never would have thought to use it as a skin on a car though...how does the paint work or would it be like a DeLorean?

[speede5]

I saw this stuff in terminator 2! liquid polymetal alloy!