Scientists turn dents into smart bumps

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This temperature-controlled reversible sign shows how images can appear on a surface simply by heating or cooling. The shape memory effect occurs because a surface remembers different arrangements while in different phases. Image credit: Yang-Tse Ch ...
This temperature-controlled reversible sign shows how images can appear on a surface simply by heating or cooling. The shape memory effect occurs because a surface “remembers” different arrangements while in different phases. Image credit: Yang-Tse Cheng.
Due to a phenomenon called the shape memory effect (SME), certain "memory metals" can be distorted and then brought back to their original shape by a simple temperature change. While a one-way memory effect has inspired applications since the '60s, and a two-way memory effect can also make objects remember two different shapes, scientists have recently discovered that the effect can now be realized at micro or nano scale on surface – dents can be turned into "mirrored" bumps.


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