Emerging Materials and Nanotechnology

Smart Materials

Smart materials can be defined as materials that can significantly change their mechanical properties (such as shape, stiffness, and viscosity), or their thermal, optical, or electromagnetic properties, in a predictable or controllable manner in response to their environment. Such materials have the ability to change shape or size simply by adding a little bit of heat, or to change from a liquid to solid almost instantly. Each individual type of smart material has a different property such as volume, viscosity, and conductivity which can be significantly altered.