Photomechanical effect is the change in the
shape of a material when it is exposed to
light. This effect was first documented by
Alexander Graham Bell
Alexander Graham Bell (, born Alexander Bell; March 3, 1847 – August 2, 1922) was a Scottish-born inventor, scientist and engineer who is credited with patenting the first practical telephone. He also co-founded the American Telephone and Te ...
in 1880. More recently,
Kenji Uchino
Kenji Uchino is an American electronics engineer, physicist, academic, inventor and industry executive. He is currently a professor of Electrical Engineering at Pennsylvania State University, where he also directs the International Center for Act ...
demonstrated that a photostrictive material could be used for legs in the construction of a miniature optically-powered "walker".
The most common mechanism of photomechanical effect is light-induced heating.
Photomechanical materials may be considered
smart materials due to their natural change implemented by external factors.
See also
*
Smart materials
References
External links
The Nonlinear Optics Web Site
Mechanics
Materials science
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