It turns out onions aren’t just the vegetable that makes people weep. Their unique properties may have just helped solved a longstanding dilemma scientists have faced in a rapidly emerging field expected to gain momentum over the coming decade.
National Taiwan University researchers say they’ve found a new way to make artificial muscle using onion skin and gold. Seriously. The findings were published in Applied Physics Letters.
According to the abstract, which is the coolest thing I’ve read all week:
“Artificial muscles are soft actuators with the capability of either bending or contraction/elongation subjected to external stimulation. However, there are currently no artificial muscles that can accomplish these actions simultaneously. We found that the single layered, latticed microstructure of onion epidermal cells after acid treatment became elastic and could simultaneously stretch and bend when an electric field was applied.”
The TL;DR takeaway from the findings is that this new form of artificial muscle can remain “soft and bendable” during contraction, something previous artificial muscles have not been able to accomplish.
According to the team at National Taiwan University, the discovery wasn’t expected. “[W]e found that the lattice structure of onion cells was similar to what we have been trying to make. So we started to investigate using onion cells,” said researcher Wen-Pin Shih.
The Verge points out that this discovery fits into the emerging field of soft robotics. Opposed to traditionally “rigid” structures, soft robots are less likely to be damaged and can work more safely with humans. Writer Adrianne Jeffries amusingly explains that a soft robot can pick an apple while a hard robot is inclined to make applesauce.
Scientists consider experimentation with biodegradable materials to be an emerging field among researchers. We can expect more awesome plant-based discoveries as scientists continue to break boundaries, especially around soft robotics and medical care.
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