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UC San Diego Researchers Control Material Stiffness with Sound Waves

3/23/2026

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Summary

Story summary

Researchers at UC San Diego developed a method to control material stiffness with sound waves.
Specific acoustic frequencies move mechanical kinks, altering stiffness, as reported in Nature Communications.
The team built a disk-and-spring model where kinks shift without energy barriers, enabling precise control.
In a life-sized model of disks connected by springs, sound nudges kinks to adjust stiffness on demand.

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Story summary

Researchers at UC San Diego developed a method to control material stiffness with sound waves.
Specific acoustic frequencies move mechanical kinks, altering stiffness, as reported in Nature Communications.
The team built a disk-and-spring model where kinks shift without energy barriers, enabling precise control.
In a life-sized model of disks connected by springs, sound nudges kinks to adjust stiffness on demand.