Pottery manufacturing can bend

Two researchers from the Massachussetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and two Singapore colleagues have just created a ceramic that can bend and return to its old shape.

Pottery is a very easy material to crack when impacted. However, according to Phys.org's science website, the team has developed small ceramic samples capable of 'remembering' shapes. When bent and burned, they will return to their original form.

The micro-ceramic sample was bent and returned to its original shape when heated - (Photo: Phys.org)

MIT professor Christopher Schuh said materials that have the ability to remember shapes have appeared since the 1950s. 'Some metals and plastics can do this, but ceramics are never - Schuh said. - Therefore, we are extremely excited about this discovery. '

In theory, the molecular structure of ceramics allows it to remember the original shape. However, pottery is too brittle and fragile. MIT experts develop ceramics that can be bent by making microscopic ceramic samples.'Small things are more difficult to crack,' explained Professor Schuh.

Later, the team changed the structure of these ceramic samples.'Normally, just bending the ceramic about 1% will break, but our ceramic samples can be bent 7-8% and still safe and return to their original shape' - Professor Schuh said.

The ceramic samples that the team produced are only about 1 micrometer large, the naked eye is not visible. However, MIT expert Alan Lai said they are not small in the nanotechnology world.

"This material will become an important tool to develop nano devices, especially in the medical field," Lai said.