Engineers create wonder material with the strength of metal and the elasticity of rubber

Scientists have developed a fibre that combines the elasticity of rubber with the strength of a metal. Researchers at North Carolina State University are behind the innovation, which has created a tougher material that could be incorporated into soft robotics, packaging materials or next-generation textiles. The team made fibres consisting of a gallium metal core surrounded by an elastic polymer sheath. When placed under stress, the fibre has the strength of the metal core. But whereas the metal eventually breaks, the fiber doesn't fail - the polymer sheath absorbs the strain between the breaks in the metal and transfers the stress back to the metal core.