Any material science people? Need a durable hand-malleable metal recommendation.

[mindless1]

Well, I know your problem. Maybe you can get some high quality sheet of tin from http://www.spam

Because you're a spammer for a company that doesn't supply copper?

 

[Thebobo]

Kevlar hinges

 

[who?]

Pure 24 karat gold is very malleable.

 

[Sho'Nuff]

OK, so metal sheets are out then if they all eventually become brittle.

As for thermoplastics, I would need this sheet to easily work into and maintain a U-shape on its own at room temperature. In fact, it should maintain any shape out its own. The thermoplastics I'm familiar with in daily life always want to spring back into its original form, at least to varying degrees. I don't want it to spring back hardly at all.

I'm also considering silicone-based putty that never dries out and even magnetic beads.

Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk

Not sure if it would withstand thousands of cycles, but have you considered shape memory alloys like Nitinol? At least some SMA's can be modulated between two shapes by the application of temperature.

 

[Fritzo]

Elemental sodium. Make sure your hands are wet when you're squeezing it.

 

[Sho'Nuff]

Elemental sodium. Make sure your hands are wet when you're squeezing it.

Why stop at Na when you can have K instead?

 

[Ken g6]

Why stop at Na when you can have K instead?

What's next? Are you going to suggest seizing some cesium? (Hint: These are bad ideas.)

 

[herm0016]

He never did reveal what the project was, even though we came up with a few interesting ideas.

 

[herm0016]

What's next? Are you going to suggest seizing some cesium? (Hint: These are bad ideas.)

cs 133 is not that toxic. it does have a melting point of like 80* F though. so it would be hard to hold in ones hand. ( also because it will react explosively with the water on your hand)

 

[Sho'Nuff]

What's next? Are you going to suggest seizing some cesium? (Hint: These are bad ideas.)

I think all parties involved (save perhaps the OP) understand that bringing metallic sodium, potassium, etc. into contact with water is a bad idea.

Fun side note - some friends and I (we were all chem nerds) once threw an 8 oz block of sodium metal that was coated in mineral oil into the pond at the main entrance of our undergrad university. It sunk without much fanfare, and we turned away disappointed. Only to be rewarded with a most fantastic BOOM! from the center of the lake. It was like a depth charge went off.

Pretty much exactly like what is shown in this vid, only the effect was delayed in our case because of the mineral oil.

Fun begins at ~45s

 

[gorcorps]

OP, any update?

Just curious... I'm a metallurgist who makes steel for a living, so you're pretty close to my wheel house