Tunable materials respond to magnetic field

Materials Science Although certain four-dimensional (4D) printed materials can respond to external stimuli, these are hard to control or feature long response times. Jackson et al. created tunable materials that can respond to an applied magnetic field by incorporating liquids that contain ferromagnetic microparticles into 3D-printed polymer tubes. In tests, these structures responded to a magnetic field in under a second. The approach could see broad applications in fields that include soft robotics, transportation systems, and smart wearable technology. Sci. Adv. 10.1126/sciadv.aau6419 (2018).