14 DAY TRIAL // Batman Begins and its Dark Knight sequels involved quite a few technological marvels. Not on the same level as Thor and The Avengers perhaps, but close.
One of the first – and most essential – resources that Bruce Wayne had at his disposal was a material that could assume and hold a shape just by being subjected to an electrical current.
Batman used it on his cape whenever he wanted it to turn into a pair of wings he could actually glide in.
Now it turns out that there is a gel that has the same properties as the memory cloth.
Researchers from North Carolina State University have invented a squishy hydrogel that changes shape when an electrode is stuck in it. The process is called “ionoprinting” and is caused by the copper ions travelling through the hydrogel.
"In the nearer term, the technique may have applications for drug delivery or tissue scaffolding and directing cell growth in three dimensions, for example," N.C. State professor Dr. Orlin Velev explains.
"We are currently planning to use this technique to develop motile, biologically compatible microdevices."
Awesome? Definitely. Practical? For now, not so much. Alas.