Gizmodo: muscles

These Carbon Nanotube Muscles Are 30 Times Stronger Than Human Muscles

Brian Lam — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 23:30:59 EDT

These next gen carbon nanotube muscles have "diamond-like" stiffness side to side, but are as flexible as rubber when moved perpendicularly. When voltage is applied to the structures, they contract with a pulling force 30 times the force per unit of human muscles.

They're also quicker. A human's muscle fibers can contract 10% per second, but these can contract 40,000 percent.

I had no idea synthetic muscles materials have come so far. A few years ago, when I was covering JPL's robotic arm wrestling challenge for Wired, the materials had a fraction of the potential of organic muscles. [Wired]

Multigym-in-a-Closet Keeps Your Fitness Under Wraps

AddyDugdale — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 06:45:00 EDT

Gym bunnies amongst you might be interested in the Murphy Gym, a shallow cupboard full of the kind of equipment you need to look like a condom stuffed with walnuts—marbled walnuts if you are either a hunk of Kobe beef, or if you like popping S.T.E.Roids as if they were M&Ms. I'm also guessing that this little gym-in-a-closet might be appealing to pervy modders out there, who could swap the chest expander for something even more black and rubbery. And for those of you who like a nice bit of bedroom farce, this could be the cupboard that the really thin lover, clad in black polo neck and jeans, hides in when his lady friend's husband returns home from work early. [Apartment Therapy]

Artificial Muscles That Can Heal Themselves (and Power Up Your Gadgets)

Sean Fallon — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 20:15:47 EDT

Unbelievably enough, researchers in California have developed an artificial muscle that can expand more than 200% when electricity is applied to it. By using carbon nanotubes, they have added a level of durability that can not be matched by current artificial muscle materials. If an area of the nanotube fails, the region around it becomes non conductive which effectively prevents the damage from spreading.

Plus, these nanotubes generate small amounts of additional electricity after expansion that can be utilized in several ways—including storage in a battery. The muscles also conserve around 70% of the electricity put into it, making them energy efficient. Sure you could use this technology to build better robots and prosthetics—but I can think of a few other parties that might be interested. [Discovery News]

Alcohol-Fueled Robot Muscles

johnb — Mon, 08 May 2006 11:17:47 EDT

University of Texas researches have created a form of "shape memory wire" that expands and contracts when cooled and heated. To make the muscles contract, they coat it in a catalyst that reacts to alcohol and begins to heat up. These muscles can be used in robots or in prosthetic limbs.

Bender, it seems, wasn't so far-fetched after all.

Video [ScienceCentral via TheInquirer]