Oh and some spidy suits that do the same kinda thing. They remain loose normally…but if they suffer trauma they will go rigid to protect: newscientist.com/article.ns? … news_rss20
Back, er…a few decades ago I remember my O level chemistry teacher saying that someone was going to be rich and famous by finding something useful to do with Potty Putty (silicon play-doh-plasticene stuff that stiffens under shock load - you can smash it with a hammer). This’ll be it then.
Damn! I should have thought of that. Course, perhaps I did. So forgetful these days…
I definately DID think it might be the basis of a way for cafe tables to self adjust to uneveness and stop spilling your coffee (now THATs a serious problem. Really starts the day on a downer) but then I figured 3-legged tables were a more elegant solution.