Nitinol (pronounced “night-in-all”) is a generic trade name for NiTi alloys, which stands for Nickel (Ni), Titanium (Ti) and the US Naval Ordinance Laboratory (NOL) where the alloy was discovered in the early 1960s by William Beuhler.

Nitinol's physical function resembles Biological Muscle: when activated it contracts - an effect opposite to that of standard metals that expand when heated.  To activate Nitinol it is heated above its transition temperature (typically 70°C). When the material cools it can be stretched back it its original shape.

But it also has a Shape Memory Effect (SME): It can be made to remember a particular shape. Once the memory is established, it can be bent out of shape. Heating the alloy above its transition temperature will return it to its memorized shape. You can modify the "memory" shape of the wire supplied by annealing the wire.  Full instructions included.  

Supplied: 50 cm wire of 0.80 mm diameter

Teach: Nanotechnology, Metal alloys, solid state chemistry

Age: 7+