A friend of mine just sent me this. I thought it was kinda cool and could be used to explain the folding metal we see on the movie-verse Transformers. Pentagon Developing Shape-Shifting 'Transformers' for Battlefield - Science News | Science & Technology | Technology News - FOXNews.com
I call promotional BS for ROTF. I can not see how the same mass that goes into a wrench can shape-shift into a hammer unless either of the two tools is a dwarf-sized tool.
Not a particularly well written story, (though it is Fox News, take that as you will) but I think what they're getting at is that they're working on the BASICS of programmable materials / memory materials, and then trying to give an example of how they could be applied a long way down the line, though not particularly a good one. From the looks of it, they're working on sheets and discrete modules. So you'd end up with something like origami that folds itself and something that works like self-assembling Lego, respectively. There's a number of possible applications for each, such as (for the sheets) airfoils and aerospace frames that change shape for different environments/situations, or possibly materials that can reshape themselves after being deformed and damaged. Hell, in theory you could use the material to close-pack bomblets that reshape themselves in midair for maximum armor-piercing potential. For the discrete "bucket of parts" they mentioned, there's a lot more that could be done, depending on their size and strength. Tools, possibly, parts, again, possibly, or even more complex objects like armor or self-assembling structures.
i've heard about this from a few different places. sounds pretty awesome, but the money should probably be used to relieve 3rd world debt or develop a cure for cancer.
