Staple-like particles reveal new path to strong materials
A tightly packed ball of office staples can be surprisingly strong. Try to pull it apart, and the tangled metal resists like a solid object.
But with the right movement or vibration, that same bundle can quickly fall back into loose pieces.
A team of engineers and materials scientists in theÌýPaul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering at CU Boulder is exploring how this uncanny combination of strength and flexibility could inspire a new class of materials built on interlocking particles. By mimicking the way staples lock together and release, the researchers believe these emerging materials can one day form structures that are strong, adaptable and even recyclable.
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