Nitinol
Alloys · Uncommon · Modern
A nickel-titanium alloy with a shape memory effect: it can be deformed at low temperatures and will return exactly to its original shape when heated above a specific transition temperature. It also exhibits superelasticity, stretching far beyond what any conventional metal tolerates before recovering completely.
Identity
- Source
- Modern alloy: nickel and titanium
- Made from
- Nickel, Titanium
- Aliases
- Nickel titanium, Shape memory alloy, NiTi
Physical Properties
- Appearance
- Dull silver-grey, unremarkable in appearance but extraordinary in behaviour
- Luster
- Metallic
- Density
- 6.45 g/cm³
- Melting point
- 1310 °C
- Boiling point
- 2800 °C
- Lighter
- Vanadium
- Denser
- Bonesteel
- Magnetism
- Non-magnetic
- Electrical conductivity
- Low
Mechanical Properties
- Mohs hardness
- 6
- Tensile strength
- 900 MPa
- Softer
- Steel
- Harder
- Damascus Steel
- Workability
- Difficult
- Brittleness
- Tough
- Malleability
- High
- Ductility
- Very High
Chemical Properties
- Corrosion resistance
- very high
- Reactivity
- low
Lore & Narrative
Discovered accidentally at the US Naval Ordnance Laboratory in 1959. The name Nitinol stands for Nickel Titanium Naval Ordnance Laboratory. A researcher bent a strip into a coil for demonstration, then held a lighter under it. It straightened itself completely. Everyone in the room went silent.
- Notable uses
- Surgical stents, orthodontic wires, actuators, eyeglass frames
- Forge uses
- medical devices, actuators, specialized tools
- Worldbuilding traits
- shape-memory, superelastic, modern, medical
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