h a l f b a k e r yThis is what happens when one confuses "random" with "profound."
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Why does a piece of paper (or cardboard) stay creased when bent? I imagine it's because of rigid fibers that are broken during the bend.
This product requires one half-baked component, which would be a (probably nanotech-based) fiber about 2-3 mm long that can become rigid or soft on command (speculations
on mechanism and links welcome). The sheet of paper would be made out of these sheets glued (or pressed) together, much like traditional paper.
Once a certain "line" of fibers receive the command to crease, (perhaps optically) they would become soft, allowing the user to bend the paper a certain way. The fibers would also have to obey a "reset" command, de-creasing (NOT 'decreasing') the paper.
The only application I can think about is an interactive origami instruction system, but I'm sure others can be found...
Programmable matter by folding
http://www.pnas.org...10/06/24/0914069107
[mitxela, Mar 14 2011]
Here's the video
http://www.youtube....edded&v=vZf3lo-16wQ
[mitxela, Mar 14 2011]
[link]
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// rigid or soft on command (speculations on
mechanism and links welcome)// Hehehe... hehe... I
can think of one. |
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Perhaps you could use an analogy of memory metal, where some physical stimuli (heat or moisture), would return an apparently flat sheet of paper to a complicated folded state. |
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//rigid or soft on command// |
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A man whom exercises that extent of control over himself is not just a man, [Daseva]. He would be a God. |
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Mixtela, thanks for the fascinating links. I was thinking more like self-creasing paper that feels like regular paper, but I must admit that the memory metal implementation is cooler (albeit a bit different than what I'm proposing) ... |
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Mmm. The other end of the spectrum is using a laser cutter or laser etcher to score lines into paper - I once had the chance to do this, and it worked very well once the depth was set right. Not exactly resettable though. |
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I think most of the applications would be self-UNfolding. Space stuff, an' stuff an' shit like that (apologies to Armstrong and Miller), that needs to be compactly transported. I seem to remember Rob Lang was designing a solar sail along these lines. I think it was bimetallic in design. |
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Of course, designing these space things to self-fold might mitigate against the "unfriendly parachute packer" problem. |
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Then again, self folding parachutes might be a good application, in itself. |
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