Memory Wire: Nitinol

 In another life, I required all of my students (except AP classes) to participate in science fair, typically around 120-140 students—every year!  I needed ideas because the teens seldom had their own project plans.  Moreover, I spent a day in the high school’s seminar room delivering ISEF Rules and fielding questions from classes participating in science fair—all the honors students.  (Mine weren’t honors students; I thought every kiddo should do one project.)  Guess which questions?  Do you have any ideas for projects?  (I hosted science fair in private schools, too.  Kiddos have the same struggle with ideas.)  I have suggestions—mainly for labs, which can become full-blown projects.  One concept is memory wire or Nitinol.

If you make jewelry, you are probably familiar with Beadaholic’s Memory Wire.  It was developed by the Naval Ordnance Lab and tested by NASA.  Shape Memory Alloys have biomedical applications, such as stents.  There are experiments here and here.  (Yes, you just bend the wire, put it in hot water, and watch it regain its original shape.) Here is a detailed lesson with notes.  Could it serve as a science fair project?  This is fine for a middle school project.  However, the student should conduct many, many trials to demonstrate the wire retains its original shape.  I would recommend doing 100 trials.  Enlist help.  Take videos and photos of people trying every shape imaginable as part of the evidence.  Maintain the same temperature of the hot water.  Be sure to understand how Nitinol is used in stents.  Can you tell I’ve done this before?  Hey!  Once you finish you can use the wire to make a bracelet.