Photomechanical effect is the change in the

shape A shape or figure is a graphics, graphical representation of an object or its external boundary, outline, or external Surface (mathematics), surface, as opposed to other properties such as color, Surface texture, texture, or material type. A pl ...

of a material when it is exposed to

light Light or visible light is electromagnetic radiation that can be perceived by the human eye. Visible light is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400–700 nanometres (nm), corresponding to frequencies of 750–420 tera ...

. 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 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 Smart materials, also called intelligent or responsive materials, are designed materials that have one or more properties that can be significantly changed in a controlled fashion by external stimuli, such as stress, moisture, electric or magnetic ...

due to their natural change implemented by external factors.

References

External links

The Nonlinear Optics Web Site
Mechanics Materials science {{materials-sci-stub

See also

References

External links