Tender fibers for auxetic membranes: Empa researcher Alexandre Morel loads the electro-spinning machine with the polymer solution.
A material that thickens when you pull on it seems to contradict the laws of physics. However, the so-called auxetic effect, which also occurs in nature, is interesting for a number of applications. A new Empa study recently published in "Nature Communications" shows how this amazing behavior can be improved - and even used to treat injuries and tissue damage. Nature shows us how to do it: A calf sucking milk from the udder of a mother cow uses a fascinating physical property of the teat, which consists of an auxetic tissue. Paradoxically, such tissues do not become narrower under tension, such as a rubber band, but wider, transverse to the direction of pull. Therefore, the cow's milk can flow unhindered through the teat. Empa scientists have now demonstrated the astonishing auxetic properties of nanofiber membranes developed specifically for this purpose.
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