Episode 18: Gear-based metamaterials supersede abilities of adaptive chemical or electro-responsive materials

In this podcast episode, MRS Bulletin’s Laura Leay interviews Peter Gumbsch, who is affiliated with both the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and the Fraunhofer Institute for Mechanics of Materials in Germany about gear-based mechanical metamaterials. The researchers offer a paradigm shift in design where—instead of choosing a material for a given application and compromising on materials properties—engineers can consider an adaptable metamaterial to build shape-morphing structures that can withstand any environment. Each gear is analogous to an atom except that whereas the properties of the bonds between atoms cannot be changed, the properties of the coupling between the gears can. This work was published in a recent issue of Nature Materials (doi:10.1038/s41563-022-01269-3).