The new and the yet-to-be realised elements of the avant-garde (1)

Science can inspire art and art science - just ask Mark Miodownik, a mechanical engineer, and Jane Prophet, an artist, whose collaboration in the use of novel materials sparked a creative buzz

NEW MATERIALS THAT AWAIT ARTISTS' TOUCH

• AEROGEL. Described as solidified breath, the world's lightest solid is 99.8 per cent air. Aerogel is notoriously tricky to manufacture because the nano-scale silica foam must be stabilised - a tall order when you consider the fragility of far coarser soap bubbles. Nasa recently used it to collect space dust from the Wild 2 comet.
• FERRO-FLUIDS. These ink-like liquids seemingly become solid in magnetic fields. Like paints, ferro-fluids are emulsions. The nano-sized magnets they contain are coated with a sticky chemical similar to the surfactant in detergent that prevents them from being ripped out of the liquid by a magnetic field. Their abrupt transformation from liquid to solid can be controlled by electromagnets via a computer, making ferro-fluids seem like digital intruders into our analogue universe.
• SHAPE-MEMORY METALS. These remarkable materials can remember their original shapes. If deformed, they instantly regain that form when heated. The atoms in most metal crystals behave like a rioting crowd with a semblance of order provided by their desire to stick together. Shape-memory crystals are engineered to behave like marching soldiers, so no atom ever gets out of step no matter how the ranks are twisted, and each atom will return to its original position on command.
• 3D RAPID PROTOTYPE MATERIAL. New technology allows computers to create three-dimensional objects. Intricate shapes can be made from nylon, layer by layer, in a similar process to ink-jet printing. But instead of ink, a powder is welded together using a laser. An alternative approach builds the object by solidifying resins according to a three-dimensional pattern using two scanning lasers. Rapid prototyping's potential for art lies in its ability to take any 3D digital shape and turn it into reality at the push of button.
• TECHNO-TEXTILES. Electronic and bio-functional fibres can be woven into fabric. This allows, say, clothing to change colour if the wearer becomes ill or agitated. Our sample in the materials library has carbon fibres connected to electrodes and a microprocessor so the garment's resistance can be monitored, turning it into a sensitive stretch sensor. Such materials could transform clothes into interactive media of expression, by linking colour change to, for instance, the volume of conversation.