Introducing Magnet-Responsive Memory Foam

Roland Piquepaille writes "The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) has recently reported that two research teams have developed a new porous foam of an alloy that changes shape when exposed to a magnetic field. The NSF states that this new material is able to remember its original shape after it's been deformed by a physical or magnetic force. This polycrystalline nickel-manganese-gallium alloy is potentially cheaper and lighter than other materials currently used in devices ranging from sonar to precision valves. It also could be used to design biomedical pumps without moving parts and even for space applications and automobiles."

Pumps with no moving parts?

[Kupfernigk]

From the summary: "It also could be used to design biomedical pumps without moving parts"

Well, such pumps do exist - you can pump liquid metals by passing a current through them, and applying a magnetic field at 90 degrees to the current as per high school physics - but I doubt they'll be pumping molten sodium through people any time soon. You could build a diaphragm pump with this approach, presumably using a two-phase magnetic circuit to very the length of the magnetic actuator, and this would probably be a lot better than passing airlines into people to operate conventional diaphragm pumps, as is done at present. But the pump has at least two moving parts, i.e. the actuator and the diaphragm.

I suspect the author meant "no rotating parts".

They forgot

[Smordnys s'regrepsA]

To mention that production of any theorized applications will take 5-10 years. Yeesh, the editors usually remember to add that bit of useless info when they add the useless list of possible uses!