ROBOT insects need strong muscles—just as real bugs do. The challenge
is to make artificial muscles move quickly, as they are usually activated by
chemicals. But now researchers in New Mexico say they can make artificial
muscles react faster by using electricity.
Brett Schreyer and his colleagues at the University of New Mexico in
Albuquerque made their synthetic muscles out of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) gel
fibres, which elongate in alkali and contract in acid. The team increased the
conductivity of the muscle by adding graphite fibres. They then connected the
muscle to a battery and placed it in a salt…
