It's like Batman’s cape that can be stiffened into a set or wings.Fluid Chain MailCaltech researchers have developed a fluid-like chain mail, which can be made rigid upon command.The scifi material can give exoskeletons unprecedented flexibility while still offering protection. Think of it as Batman's cape that can be stiffened into wings.Working out of NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab, Caltech suggests that the same material can be used to create structure for injuries or as a bridge.Chiara Daraio is a Caltech professor of mechanical engineering and the corresponding author for the Nature study. We would like to make a fabric that can be controlled from being soft and foldable to rigid, load-bearing and load-bearing.AdvertisementAdvertisementArmor MillThis is the basic idea.Daraio said that coffee is vacuum sealed in bags. It is still solid when it is sealed, Daraio explained. However, once you open the bag, the coffee grounds will no longer be jammed against one another and can be poured as fluid.Chain mail is not made of coffee grounds. It is composed of intricate interlocking shapes that are 3D-printed with polymers and metals.Jose Andrade, Caltech mechanical engineering professor, stated that the ability to carry tensile loads at grain scale in chain mail applications is a game changer. It's like having a string capable of carrying compressive loads.AdvertisementAdvertisementThe team discovered that the material could withstand more than 50 percent of its weight in rigid form during lab tests.The team is now looking for easy ways to switch the material between its rigid state and fluid state. Daraio suggests that cables could be used to run the material through it like drawstrings in a hoodie.It will take some time before the material can be used to heal patients or allow the Dark Knight to fly through the night sky. Unfortunately, this strategy could prove fatal.READ MORE: Material inspired by Chain Mail transforms from flexible to rigid on command [Caltech]AdvertisementAdvertisementMore fabric: A new smart fabric can transform clothing into a huge screen
