To anyone unfamiliar with materials science, nitinol objects may seem magical.
Squish them, twist them, or bend them — it doesn’t matter. Just add heat and the nickel-titanium blend will return to its original shape.
Apply a strong enough electrical current to a bent nitinol wire and the resulting warmth will cause it to flex like muscle.
Artists have used the curious alloy to make garments with moving parts and breathe life into felt gills and scales.
Engineers have tested it as an artificial muscle for animating robots