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Memory Metal Invented in Beijing
Scientists in Beijing have succeeded in creating metal with a memory. The scientists explain that if a car made of this kind of metal was damaged in a collision, its outer shell could be restored after being heated in boiling water, according to Beijing Review.
Jiang Xian, Director of the Rare Metals Research Institute of the Beijing Nonferrous Metals Research Academy, said the metal is calledˇ°Shape-Memory Alloyˇ± and canˇ°rememberˇ± its former shape.
If it is remolded by external forces, it can recover at a certain temperature. In the 1960s, scientists discovered that a titanium-nickel alloy had someˇ°memoryˇ±. Spacing based on this discovery, they made a satellite antennae that extends automatically. Before launch, such antennae are the size of a human hand but will expand to four or five meters in space.
Because of its high costs, the metal could not be used in everyday life. But now, scientists say they have lowered the cost so much that it can be used by everyone. Jiang said they have succeeded in readjusting the memory temperature to body temperature. Brassieres made of it are as soft as silk but stand out when worn. Scientists also have made an artificial esophagus of the metal for patients suffering from cancer of the esophagus. The new esophagus expands when put into the throat but shrinks when users freeze it with ice, making it easy for patients to put in or take out.
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