Origin of material ... thicker when stretched

Commonly, when we stretch everything, they become thinner. However, this is not always true; Some, such as catskin , have 'auxetic' stretching characteristics . For the first time, scientists have developed a synthetic material that will thicken when stretched.

An oddly named crystalline liquid of this sort is odd and scientists are considering ways to apply it, such as body armor and equipment.

Scientists have been trying to create a similar breakthrough for more than 30 years.

This material is related to the technology found in television and telephone monitors.

Materials of this nature will be useful for absorbing energy and minimizing the risk of fracture with many potential uses.

This new material is acetic , meaning that its production is not too complex. Other tests result in the material becoming spongy when stretched - undesirable.

This material is related to the technology found in television and telephone monitors. Liquid crystals are semi-hard and semi-solid, and they can form new properties when bonded to polymer chains.

Dr Devesh Mistry, lead author of the new report published in Nature Communications, said: "This is a truly encouraging finding that will bring significant benefits to the product. futures with a lot of applications'.

The team used the device with the inspection of the Leeds Center for Spectroscopy and Electronic Microscopy to test the material.

Dr. Mistry confirmed that the research team submitted a patent application and discussed with potential partners the next steps.