Materials Science World Congress

Smart materials represent advanced materials capable of controlling their properties or their structural properties dynamically in response to temperature, pressure, light, pH, or electric fields. Their unique feature is to change properties or structures in a controlled way to allow adaptation to varying conditions and execute specific functions on their own. This adaptation capability makes them very useful in manifold fields starting from aerospace and electronics to the field of healthcare and construction.

Among the most popular smart materials are SMAs, which have the characteristic of having a ""memory"" of the original shape and returning to it by heating if it had been deformed. SMAs are used in a very large number of medical applications, including stents, actuators, and other robotics with very specific movement characteristics.

Piezoelectric materials generate electricity when under mechanical stress. This importance is seen in sensors as well as devices that harvest energy, even in medical fields, where they can power small devices converting mechanical movement into electrical energy.

One of the newer developments in the field of smart materials is self-healing materials, which may auto-repair cracks or damage, thereby greatly increasing their lifespan and reducing maintenance requirements. Thus, they are ideal for applications in the aerospace, automotive, and construction industries, where strength and reliability are critical.

Another set of material variants that are widely used and versatile are called smart polymers. These are very responsive polymers to environmental changes, and several applications have been made in drug delivery systems where therapeutic agents are expelled based on the influence of specific conditions prevailing in the body, such as pH and temperature changes.

In conclusion, smart materials are one of the leaps forward in material science, introducing multi-functionality through response to environmental cues. The possibilities that these materials offer might lead the world in wearable electronics, and a self-healing infrastructure, among other changes in the industries of this world.

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