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Scientists Discover Way to Send Information into Black Holes Without Using Energy

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Scientists Made a Material That Snaps in Order Could Power Smart Robots & Devices. Here's How

Imagine a sheet of elastic material that can transform its shape like magic. Cut a few patterns into it, and it unfolds into a mesh-like structure when stretched. Now, add magnets to the mix, and suddenly, this simple sheet behaves in ways scientists never thought possible — opening its patterns in a precise, controlled sequence and absorbing more energy than ever before. This is the breakthrough achieved by researchers at North Carolina State University, and it could revolutionize materials science, robotics, and biomedical devices.

From Simple Cuts to Metamaterials

At the heart of this discovery is the concept of metamaterials — materials whose properties are engineered by design rather than just their chemical composition. "If you cut a T-pattern into a polymer sheet, you've created a metamaterial, because you've changed the properties of the material," says Haoze Sun, a Ph.D. student at North Carolina State University and first author of the study published in Science Advances.

When a plain polymer sheet is cut with such patterns and pulled, all the cuts snap open at once. The sheet transforms into a mesh-like form, extending in length and creating a flexible, stretchable material. This behavior, called "snapping," is entirely mechanical and occurs naturally because of the structure of the cuts.

However, the researchers wondered: what if they incorporated magnetic materials into the polymer and magnetized the sheet? Would the snapping behavior change?

Magnetism Adds Order to Chaos

The results were surprising. Instead of all rows snapping open simultaneously, the magnetized sheets unfolded one row at a time. "The magnetic force is trying to hold the pieces of the sheet together while gravity is trying to pull them apart," explains Jie Yin, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at NC State and corresponding author of the paper.

At first, the rows snapped open in a random order, unique to each sheet. However, each sheet repeated its own order consistently. For example, if Sheet A’s rows opened in the sequence 1-2-3, that sequence would always repeat. Sheet B, with a 3-1-2 sequence, would always open in that order.

Haoze Sun elaborates, "We found that small, unavoidable defects in the sheet dictate the snapping sequence. Because these defects don’t change, the order of snapping remains consistent." Even this subtle discovery was remarkable, revealing how tiny imperfections can control the behavior of complex materials.

Creating Fully Controlled Sequences

The team didn’t stop there. They explored what happens when multiple magnetized sheets are stacked together and clamped at the top and bottom. When two sheets were placed back-to-back so that their magnetic fields repelled each other, the snapping became highly ordered. The rows opened from top to bottom 90% of the time, a dramatic improvement over the random sequences of single sheets.

"This shows two exciting things," says Yin. "First, we can make the metamaterial snap sequentially rather than all at once. Second, by aligning these metamaterials properly, we can reduce randomness and achieve precise control over their behavior."

A Leap in Energy Absorption

Beyond the fascinating physics, this controlled snapping has real-world applications, particularly in energy absorption. The researchers found that magnetized elastic metamaterials could absorb 30% more kinetic energy than unmagnetized ones.

To test this, they dropped a ball onto both types of metamaterials. On a plain sheet, the ball bounced off, but on the magnetized sheet, the ball came to rest, demonstrating how the material absorbed the impact energy. The amount of energy absorbed could even be tuned by adjusting the strength of the internal magnetic attraction — stronger magnets resulted in greater energy absorption.

This finding opens doors for designing materials that can safely dissipate energy in a controlled manner, which could have implications in everything from protective gear to soft robotics.

Potential Applications

The implications of this work extend far beyond energy absorption. According to Yin, the ability to control the snapping sequence could impact several fields:

  • Wave propagation: Metamaterials could guide mechanical waves in precise directions, useful for vibration control and sound manipulation.

  • Reconfigurable robotics: Robots built from such materials could change shape in controlled ways, enabling adaptive motion or compact storage.

  • Biomedical devices: Soft, magnetized metamaterials could be used in implants, surgical tools, or devices that respond to external forces in predictable ways.

In essence, by combining structural design with magnetism, the researchers have created a programmable material — one whose mechanical behavior can be tuned, repeated, and applied in diverse contexts.

The Road Ahead

While the study represents a fundamental advance in our understanding of metamaterial behavior, it also lays the groundwork for practical innovations. The research demonstrates that subtle design choices — like pattern cuts, defects, and magnetic alignment — can profoundly affect material behavior. This controlled snapping opens up a world of possibilities for adaptive, responsive, and energy-absorbing materials.

As Sun notes, "We’re excited about future directions for this work. The ordered snapping sequence can find potential applications in guiding wave propagation, reconfigurable robotics, and biomedical devices."

Indeed, this discovery is a vivid reminder that in materials science, sometimes tiny cuts and tiny magnets can create huge possibilities. By combining mechanics and magnetism, researchers are not just making materials bend and stretch — they are making them think, respond, and absorb energy in ways previously thought impossible.

Reference:
Haoze Sun et al., Magnetic coupling transforms random snapping into ordered sequences in soft metamaterials, Science Advances (2026). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aec3182. Link

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