Auxetics defy common sense, widening when stretched and narrowing when compressed. NIST researchers have now made the process of using them much easier. Such common-sense-defying materials do exist.

Imagine pulling on the long ends of a rectangular piece of rubber. It should become narrower and thinner. But what if, instead, it got wider and fatter? Now, push in on those same ends. What if the ...

Most materials bulge out when you squeeze them, pushing the energy outside. But that's not always what you want -- wouldn't it sometimes be better for them to collapse and hold the energy inside?

Researchers at MIT’s Self-Assembly Lab have recently developed an adaptable material that reacts in response to changes in heat. Known as Heat-Active Auxetics, the material functions in a similar ...

There are young children celebrating the holidays this year with their families, thanks to the 3D-printed medical devices created in the lab of Georgia Tech researcher Scott Hollister. For more than ...

Inspired by the humble deep-sea sponge, RMIT University engineers have developed a new material with remarkable compressive strength and stiffness that could improve architectural and product designs.

Imagine pulling on the long ends of a rectangular piece of rubber. It should become narrower and thinner. But what if it instead became wider and fatter? Now, push in on those same ends. What if the ...

In a new study published in NPJ Computational Materials, they announced they've developed a new tool that makes designing materials with auxetic properties easier and faster. An algorithm, the tool ...

Such common-sense-defying materials do exist. They’re called auxetics, and they have a raft of unique properties that make them well-suited for sneaker insoles, bomb-resilient buildings, car bumpers ...