Story perspectives

New Entangled Materials Promise Innovations in Engineering and Robotics

4/21/2026

Summary

Story summary

Researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder are developing entangled materials inspired by tangled office staples, using geometric interlocking instead of chemical bonds.
The materials switch between rigid and loose states through targeted vibrations.
Specially shaped particles, notably two-legged staples, maximize interlocking to provide tensile strength and toughness.
The work, published in the Journal of Applied Physics, suggests civil engineering and robotics applications and potential to disassemble and recycle structures.

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Story summary

Researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder are developing entangled materials inspired by tangled office staples, using geometric interlocking instead of chemical bonds.
The materials switch between rigid and loose states through targeted vibrations.
Specially shaped particles, notably two-legged staples, maximize interlocking to provide tensile strength and toughness.
The work, published in the Journal of Applied Physics, suggests civil engineering and robotics applications and potential to disassemble and recycle structures.