How NASA Reinvented The Wheel

NASA have made a wheel capable of withstanding tough Martian terrain, but just how indestructible is it? Head to hensonshaving.com/veritasium and enter code 'Veritasium' for 100 free blades with the purchase of a razor. Make sure to add both the razor and the blades to your cart for the code to take effect.
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A huge thanks to everyone at NASA Glenn Research Center for having us at the SLOPE Lab, showing their work on this indestructible tire, and helping with the science and animation.
A huge thanks to everyone at Smart Tire Co for showing us around their facility, teaching us about nitinol, and letting us flatten their tires.
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References:
Steel Rod Footage - ve42.co/SteelRod
H. Föll. 8.4.1 - Martensite. University of Kiel, Faculty of Engineering - ve42.co/Foell
Bhattacharya, K. (1998). Theory of martensitic microstructure and the shape-memory effect - ve42.co/Bhattacharya1998
Bhattacharya, K. (2003). Microstructure of martensite: why it forms and how it gives rise to the shape-memory effect (Vol. 2). Oxford University Press. - ve42.co/MartensiteBook
Shaw, J. A. (2008). Tips and tricks for characterizing shape memory alloy wire: part 1-differential scanning calorimetry and basic phenomena. Experimental Techniques - ve42.co/Shaw2008
Buehler, W. J., Gilfrich, J. V., & Wiley, R. C. (1963). Effect of low‐temperature phase changes on the mechanical properties of alloys near composition TiNi. Journal of applied physics, 34(5), 1475-1477.
Kauffman, G. B., & Mayo, I. (1997). The story of nitinol: the serendipitous discovery of the memory metal and its applications. The chemical educator, 2, 1-21. - ve42.co/Kauffman1997
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Special thanks to our Patreon supporters:
Emil Abu Milad, Tj Steyn, meg noah, Bernard McGee, KeyWestr, Amadeo Bee, TTST, Balkrishna Heroor, John H. Austin, Jr., john kiehl, Anton Ragin, Benedikt Heinen, Diffbot, Gnare, Dave Kircher, Burt Humburg, Blake Byers, Evgeny Skvortsov, Meekay, Bill Linder, Paul Peijzel, Josh Hibschman, Mac Malkawi, Juan Benet, Ubiquity Ventures, Richard Sundvall, Lee Redden, Stephen Wilcox, Marinus Kuivenhoven, Michael Krugman, Cy ‘kkm’ K’Nelson, Sam Lutfi.
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Written by Derek Muller, Katie Barnshaw, & Emily Zhang
Edited by Trenton Oliver
Animated by Mike Radjabov & Ivy Tello
Coordinated by Emily Zhang
Filmed by Derek Muller, Emily Zhang & Raquel Nuno
Additional video/photos supplied by Getty Images & Pond5
Music from Epidemic Sound
Produced by Derek Muller, Petr Lebedev, & Emily Zhang
Thumbnail by Ignat Berbeci

[@speedfastman]

Can you do "how NASA reinvented cat girls" next?

[@meqativ]

catgirls v2??? real?

[@aurockson2696]

@@meqativno, v…..3

[@PaulLoveless-Cincinnati]

What lol I don't get it

[@chaseddraco]

Real

[@You-Have-No-Bitches]

@@DontReadProfilePicture- Cum

[@Fozzdaddy12]

As an engineer I’ve known of nitinol for a while, did some labs with it in college. But I never saw the example of bending the nitinol pipe in half and have it return to shape. Awesome material

[@thesmarttirecompany]

it's super cool to feel in person. that hot/cold effect is even more than you'd think (check out the facial reactions in the video)!

[@onyx3019]

hell yeah we use it dentistry and are also taught all about it ,especially for root canal instruments and for braces and orthodontic appliances.. but just like you never knew it was used in so many different ways ,crazy that all these fields have this material in common

[@harpintn]

I first read about it in the late 70's

[@slav_K0]

@@thesmarttirecompany For how long does the bent part stay warm?

[@thesmarttirecompany]

@@slav_K0 if you are holding the tube like in the video, the heat will linger for a while (really it's your hand holding on to it). Otherwise it would dissipate into the air if it were held in place. However, for a tire rotating at high speeds, there is not really any time for the heat to escape, which is perfect because we get to "recycle" that heat energy instead of turning it into waste heat.

[@valkyrie9729]

They use this metal in orthodontia too. The wires for braces are made out of this. They are “programmed” as the parabolic shape that the orthodontist wants, then bent and tied into the braces. The heat of the mouth (aka your body heat) makes the wire “want” to return to its original shape, thereby pulling your teeth into the proper position! I was amazed when my orthodontist showed me this, it was super cool to see as a kid.

[@asherandai2633]

Wait... so why when I had braces as a kid did they need to constantly be tightened and adjusted? Or is it a newer thing in orthodontics? Edit: Also my teeth wanted to return to their original position as well... 5 years of braces and retainers did nothing!

[@koffing2073]

@@asherandai2633 because its obviously a new tech

[@lukeporter6321]

@@koffing2073 Imagine thinking everyone knows about all technology and when it was created and used. He asked a question because it wasn't obvious to him.

[@rawmakers]

@@koffing2073you’re obviously a d-bag

[@nickcunningham6344]

@@koffing2073 obviously not obvious to everyone

[@jakeperrine2488]

My father was on the design team for the Apollo rover (and LEM,etc.) and received an award for his team’s design of the rover tires. It’s so cool to see this generations upgrades to the concepts they used back then!

[@sv8765]

I love that these 2 engineers are so happy with their work, they look genuinely happy.

[@poplicker4]

who wouldn't be knowing they are on the brink of revolutionizing basically every industry $

[@unorthodoxpickle7014]

everyone is happy when they get to do what they love

[@DarenKajiWolf]

I wonder why...

[@MrInterpriser]

No, they’re not

[@Climacticc_Chaos]

We are all nerds here.

[@GillyTech]

I discovered a congenital defect in my heart at age 34. It was a penny sized hole in the two top chambers called the atria. They used a nitinol device to close the hole and allow heart lining cells to grow into it. This stuff saved me!

[@MorganMadej]

That is Fantastic! You are a living example of High Tech Heart!

[@johanmetreus1268]

Glad they caught it in time, required my sister a stroke at the age 27 to find out she suffered the exact same problem.

[@GillyTech]

@@johanmetreus1268 yes that’s really unfortunate and I hope your sister is doing better now. I too had a minor “mini stroke” called a TIA when I was about that age but didn’t report it as it only lasted a few minutes. More people should be aware of this condition and screening when you’re young is extremely simple.

[@calimalu79cali11]

Are you on any blood thinners or just aspirin? Always wondered when it came to heart application and age.

[@GillyTech]

@@calimalu79cali11 matter of fact I’m on no meds at all. Aspirin for the fist 6 months then nothing 👍

[@adrianrahardjo8481]

In the first 10 minutes, they basically covered several key topics of a Materials Science degree in a very interesting and memorable way. I really wished this video was available a few years ago when I was still in uni...

[@b0bby5104]

they were this channel is old and you had stuff like nile red too and a bunch of other channels

[@dobber43]

​@@b0bby5104he said he really wished this video not videos by this channel or just other quality science videos he specifically said THIS VIDEO

[@R005T4R]

one of my customers was one of the engineers that was hired to study Nitinol in the late 60’s and 70’s he’s still inventing today and is currently close to a breakthrough in magnetics

[@recordstorewhore]

China has entered the chat...

[@dagoberttrump9290]

What kind of breakthrough?

[@gratitudesacredawakening]

I would also like to know, I’m intrigued.

[@colbyr7811]

​@@dagoberttrump9290he's probably been close to a breakthrough for 5 decades 😅

[@xorgbeep]

underrated hottake @@colbyr7811

[@astigstudio]

Veritasium videos are the type that don't need any fancy high pace over energetic editing needed. I will watch the video all through out no matter what

[@mantrachhaya6835]

For real man !! I wait eagerly for a new video from veritasium, and untill a new video comes i visit the old videos, or watch old Vsauce videos,

[@rokochoco6152]

they need comment bots though

[@falconerd343]

I watch it all the way through, but I have to do it at 1.5 speed...

[@personrod2973]

@@falconerd343 godamn you guys have some real attention span problems

[@sleepingduty2987]

Jhonny Harris: why attac me?

[@Eyerleth]

I had NiTiNOL wires in my orthodontics as a teenager. They worked to slowly, continually push the teeth into their new positions, rather than needing painful tightening every couple of weeks. Quite an impressive material!

[@RayMusic88]

That's cool! Do you remember if they cost more than regular wires?

[@teeanahera8949]

What do you mean “to” slowly? Surely not too slowly as that would be a criticism of them. You meant they worked slowly.

[@potterfanz6780]

@@teeanahera8949 They worked to slowly, continually push the teeth = They worked to push the teeth

[@mycondolences8708]

@@teeanahera8949 they worked to slowly and continually push to teeth into their new positions

[@gio3061]

​@@teeanahera8949 I worked to swiftly and definitively get you back in school, to improve your English comprehension.

[@matijakruhoberec]

These types of videos is what keeps me going through mechanical engineering school. Seeing things I learned about being applied in real world situations, but also reedeming the knowledge I gained and thought was useless during materials courses.

[@iLLadelph267]

21:34 shots like this really communicate science fantastically. "put your full body weight on it" you can see Derek physically interacting with the thing and playing with it like any student might

[@ExtremeBirdTypography]

The plane with the vortex generators was the coolest part to me. Seeing them flip up and down due to the heat was awesome.

[@georgefragiadis1378]

Nasa and Boeing studied also chevrons with shape memory alloys, bending towards the flow of the jet exhaust when taking off or landing to reduce noise( by introducing mixing vortices) and straighting the chevrons out of the flow when cruising to increase performance

[@thePronto]

I wonder if there are ever any scenarios where that would be not the required behavior. What about those Antarctic resupply flights or airfields in Nepal or Tibet: you might not get the vortex generator to flip back up....

[@SonnyKnutson]

@@thePronto Was thinking that too. Maybe some extreme temperature countries would cause issues here. I mean the air higher up is cold but it might not be colder than some of the coldest places on earth? Or similar with warmer air at ground level.

[@princejangra1231]

@@SonnyKnutson exactly

[@kedo]

I love the excitement and positive energy from all those engineers! They’re really happy to show their work.

[@hopegold883]

“Good job, science guy!” ❤️

[@sudhanshu2802]

@@hopegold883 that got me smiling.

[@hunszaszist]

It's only positive energy when you apply stress, otherwise it's endothermic!

[@commentfreely5443]

while infrastructure on earth hasn't been maintained in the last 100 years and they waste money on going places with no air and no use to us.

[@jamessever8936]

Yeah, makes me want to work there!

[@MiguelHernandez-nd3pr]

Hands down one of the best videos you've made and one of the best on KZbin. So helpful. We watched this video as a family this morning with teenagers and 8 year old. They thought this was amazing. Great job inspiring science in the lives of my children.

[@kob8634]

Fantastic. Been curious about Nitinol for over half a century and this is the best bit on it I've seen yet. Thanks

[@stepexgd6628]

I'm not an engineer or physicist, but this is one of the coolest materials I've ever seen.

[@waltersike]

Physical

[@stepexgd6628]

Yeah, I'm not physical. I'm a ghost >:)

[@user-ku5be4nc3g]

You haven't seen my wife yet... Just kidding, i am forever alone.

[@ailaG]

Especially when straightened!

[@11x334]

I said there are electric rocks just like magnetic rocks and suddenly there were all these photos of that stuff

[@marklapointe48]

Wow, what a cool video and comprehensive demonstration and explanation of nitinol and its applications! Great job on this one, probably one of my favorite Veritasium videos. And thanks to everyone at Glenn and the contractors that work on this awesome tech and explained it so thoroughly!

[@TheJvb8]

This was super interesting. Would love to see a follow-up video going into some of its limitations and why we haven't seen it more in industrial use for something that was discovered in the 60s.

[@panner11]

One of the big ones is just that it's pretty expensive

[@asherandai2633]

@@panner11 So were computers back then. But the costs came down massively as they improved and got better at making them. So if it really is still so expensive, the question is what's stopping them from improving and getting better at making them?

[@pkmnogosari6091]

@@asherandai2633 the material is titanium, how many things are made of titanium? Shows you how rare they are

[@asherandai2633]

@@pkmnogosari6091 titanium is the fourth most abundant metallic element, and the ninth most abundant element overall. It’s not rare at all, so it shouldn’t be so expensive.

[@tylerdurden3722]

​​@@asherandai2633 Semiconductors became cheaper because transistors were made smaller and smaller. Meaning less material was needed. You can't apply that concept to something like gold, for example. It's expensive because it's limited. Both Nickel and Titanium ore is very limited. Nickel is can only be mined in a few placed on earth in significant amounts. Same with Titanium. Both metals have very high melting points (need a lot of energy to work them into shapes). Hence why nickel alloys are used in jet engines (because it can handle crap tons of heat). The bonds between Titanium and the stuff it forms a compound with in the ores require a crap ton of energy to break. Extracting Titanium from ore will always be energy intensive. There's no way around that. Titanium is very reactive so it needs special environments and tools to be worked. An inert atmosphere and tools that won't contaminate it. Working with both Titanium and Nickel are both very mature technologies. Both metals are used extensively in the aviation industry. There are 35 000 Commercial aircraft existing now, alone. Most of them making extensive use of both nickel and titanium. Everything to make it cheap in terms of energy has been done. Then the electronics industry also uses a lot of nickel, and increasingly so with lithium batteries. Only a few countries are blessed with Nickel and Titanium ore. E.g. Russia. Hence why nickel prices are skyrocketing. In other words, using nitinol for a lot more stuff will increase Titanium and Nickel prices. Making it more expensive, not cheaper.

[@jnmharris]

I did a report on nitinol in 8th grade science...41 years ago...nice to see this video explain its properties even further. Cool!!

[@RC_Engineering]

It's sad that it's never found widespread usefulness.

[@rl6382]

​@@RC_Engineering it just did

[@RC_Engineering]

@@rl6382 where?

[@rl6382]

@@RC_Engineering they literally mentioned multiple sectors that are implementing this material for upgrading current systems... did you not watch this video?

[@RC_Engineering]

@@rl6382 oh I see. Youre mistaking the possibility of niche uses for actual widespread use. They've been theorizing uses for 40 years, yet when you look around do you see this material on a daily basis?

[@uasif1993]

As a dentist, we use NiTi alloys in our dental files for root canal treatments. Really interesting to see its applications in other fields!

[@EddieBurke]

Is the application similar? Does applying heat to it help it “set”

[@Vadow789]

Isn't it also used in braces?

[@julianofischerrauber8938]

@@Vadow789 Yes, in self ligated braces.

[@MCMXI1]

@@Vadow789 My orthodontist used NiTi in my braces about 30 years ago. I'll never forget him applying cool and watching the wire go limp then applying heat and instantly regaining the shape for my teeth.

[@monastero]

Vascular stents!

[@ivanmartindelcampo]

I vividly remember in my gen chem lab class at uni we had an experiment where we messed around with Nitinol and I was completely in shock and awe with how it was behaving. I want to say that day was the moment I fell in love with material science and now love learning and researching about polymers as a chemist!

[@ACoe40]

Very cool, I’m in medicine and we use Nitinol stents a lot- interesting to learn how they retain their shape and are able to apply the necessary radial forces to a stricture

[@beckyolesen1919]

One of my favorite thing about being an engineer is watching other engineers geek out about whatever they are working on!

[@syedabishosainrizvi7817]

It is genuinely so much easier to talk at length to someone about a project that you've done

[@LogicAndReason2025]

We need more stuff like this to help the public understand that NASA is not an expense, but a great investment that pays back more than double.

[@teslafieldphysics4041]

How much as NASA put in your pocket? Nothing! Your brainwashed, I feel sort for you.

[@unknownman5090]

I agree with you. I hate US but I love NASA. They help space exploration become reality. I dont care if Apollo really land on moon or not. That thing do no harm even if it a lie.

[@ThatGamerAlexIsThatBoy]

No Bc bad for capitalism

[@earthling_parth]

@@ThatGamerAlexIsThatBoy Exactly. Capitalism values short term gains way more than long-term returns.

[@LogicAndReason2025]

@@carlosquinto1383 Not weird at all. That is how national investments work. Just like with public education. The Post WW2 tech boom was fueled by major investments in public science education. Some people think that because a percentage of students flunk out, that the investment is not good, when in fact, the benefits far outweighs the loss. The smarter the country, the richer it will be.

[@5MadMovieMakers]

Engineers who never "tire" of their job!

[@Nezzen-]

oh brother

[@S1YAM]

that was so terrible. never try puns again. it's not your thing

[@MIlodOz0n]

@@S1YAM its a type of humour, so it's not your thing either

[@lucienmoolman8017]

That was so bad it became good

[@ImThatGirl101]

🐑🪘🐍

[@maryistubing]

I love how that Santo guy is really, really into the sciene and its effects. You can just see his love for it. Awesome.

[@nikolatesla2318]

What i really like about this videos, is the fact that the people that work in these places are actually nice and kind and are willing to share the beauty of science to whoever is in front of them. That's passion right here guys

[@thesmarttirecompany]

The team at NASA Glenn is incredible (and we like our guys a lot too)!

[@xGaLoSx]

those first 2 tests were cringe and unnecessary. The new tire isn't holding in air, so why do a nail test?

[@johnlucas6683]

@@xGaLoSx Well.. to show the difference. It is still called a tire after all. And seeing it getting shot by a bullet, not only not getting punctured but also not getting bent to unusable state, as a wheel, is kinda amazing.

[@hellobro9280]

Ofc not, if it wasn't a popular channel like Veritasium, they won't even care

[@xGaLoSx]

@johnlucas6683 you don't need a test to know a nail isn't going to pop a tire that can't be popped.

[@paulpease8254]

The stress-strain curve reminded me of my PhD work on single DNA molecules. We could grab the two ends of a single DNA molecule (with laser beams, of course), and make force-extension curves. DNA also goes through a phase transition under physical strain. At first it acts like a low stretch string, where the force increases quickly as the extension gets close to the full length of the molecule. At around 65 piconewtons (65x10^-12 N) it will “overstretch” and at a relatively constant force (hallmark of a phase transition) will stretch to ~1.7 times its normal length. When the force is reduced it will go back to its original length, although there can be significant hysteresis depending on how quickly the load is reduced. The overstretching is coupled to an unwinding of the double helix, so in effect it’s a wind up toy and can be used to apply torque, e.g. rotate a microscopic bead. DNA is a super cool material, I hope Veritasium does a video on this stuff.

[@salina3192]

I did not expect someone talking about overstretching DNA in an optical tweezer in a video about Nitinol. Greetings from a postdoc doing a lot of force extensions on RNA in magnetic and optical tweezers 😅

[@BrotherWalrus]

@@salina3192 As a layman, this video was mind-blowing enough, and now you two come in and tell us you can hold DNA with LASERS?! There's no brain left to blow anymore, it's all over the walls now!

[@Merthalophor]

> DNA is a super cool material Is there any form of research going on to use DNA as a main ingredient of a material? The same way e.g. polymers are used in plastic? Or what sort of (potential) applications do these cool properties you just mentioned have? Sounds fascinating!!

[@tbraghavendran]

What about DNA computing 🤔

[@gps9715]

Once again biology through evolution is way ahead of the curve. Awesome info. Thanks.

[@rubycosmo6279]

The guy demonstrating seems like an incredible teacher with the way he engaged everyone and used the audiences terms in a scientific context

[@BetzalelMC]

Excellent use of graphs, totally hit home for me once visualized via graph! Thanks for another great video!

[@calvinyoung480]

Shoutout to all the amazing folks at NASA GRC's SLOPE Lab in Cleveland! I had the privilege of interning on this project and can't speak highly enough of everyone and all their work.

[@Skept_]

How do I become a scientist? I have lots of knowledge about things and have my own theories, being apart of this world crafting and creating for man kind would be bad ass

[@rickebert7548]

How? Learn all you can, and stay curious.

[@rickebert7548]

I think this is just awesome… these advances don’t just happen, even with huge effort. Going to Mars or the Moon is an All-NASA program, maybe an all-of-humanity program. GRC, U.Ohio so proud to share the logo.

[@calvinyoung480]

@@Skept_ There are so many ways to get involved! It really depends on where you're at in life. Try to get engaged with local groups and communities--it's so much more rewarding to participate in person.

[@mdashrafulislam64]

As someone deeply passionate about material science, I found this video on NASA’s development of the Spring Tire to be incredibly fascinating. It’s amazing to see how research conducted by NASA eventually trickles back into commercial usage and benefits us all. Thank you for sharing this information with us!

[@grimaffiliations3671]

Makes you realize that the government is actually more innovative than a lot of private companies. They come in after the government has spent a lot of time on research and development

[@redpillsatori3020]

@@grimaffiliations3671 Not really, but keep telling yourself that

[@4stomper]

@@grimaffiliations3671 Quite the opposite.

[@grimaffiliations3671]

@@redpillsatori3020 Yes really, whether its new drugs, the internet, touchscreens or GPS, it's been government driving innovation

[@johnyepthomi892]

@@redpillsatori3020 kindly elaborate rather than simply sounding like a contrarian.

[@cubandarknez]

alloys and material science in general is so freaking cool. If you track the progression of industrial technology throughout history, a lot of it had to do with working our way up the "material technology tree" per say, since even if we had an idea for something, we didn't necessarily have the material science tech to actually make it happen, and then at every new breakthrough you then unlock so many new possibilities.

[@markbtw7987]

When you started bending the tube to extreme levels and it was changing temperatures from it... Amazing. I would buy one of those tubes to play with for sure. Incredible that materials like this exist and we're just now finding what could be near limitless uses for it.

[@Salisaad]

What I love most about Derek is that he takes us to meet these incredible passionate people doing fascinating stuff.

[@TheAnnoyingBoss]

Thus titanium alloy is pretty wild i just wonder what its durability is. Its like as if you had a. Ultra magic paperclip.

[@jarretburgener3351]

As an engineer grad who had to work with material science this video was very facinating, and really gets you trying to think about other applications for such a material. I bet racecar companies are looking into this material for their tires. I wonder if you could use this material with appropriate heat controls to increase traction or decrease traction of the tire during the race. If so, I could easily see it being one of the biggest improvements to long-term race times as you could "deflate" the tire on harsh turns, and to slow down leading into them, and then "inflate" the tire on straights for speed.

[@onyx3019]

we use it in dentistry in root canals and braces which is amazing

[@PinkFZeppelin]

In the context of racing tire pressure is usually used to control heat. Low pressure tires make more heat than the same tire at a higher pressure. They are just trying to target a specific temperature for a given tire compound. It could be cool to see it used to increase efficiency of vehicles with rubber tires. In the straights you could reduce the contact patch of the tire to reduce the coefficient of friction. In a corner it could do the inverse.

[@leskobrandon7516]

I'm sure shoes have a place here

[@bigmitchy4026]

i kinda doubt it'd be used for tires cause it seems like the coefficient of friction isnt going to be all that high

[@GizzyDillespee]

Rocket cars at the salt flats. Sort of like missiles with wheels

[@Cayled174]

The title was so catchy that I thought It was some clickbait, but knowing veritasium I knew it was unlikely. I'm not disappointed. Nasa really did reinvent the wheel!

[@Thenoobestgirl]

"The bones of the tire is a slinky" 😂 idk why that made me laugh so much

[@Thorfinn.05]

I am preparing for a solids class test, and I will be asked about everything discussed here. This video not only improved my understanding of the topic but it went beyond discussing this new material for me, the applications, different scenarios and even the history. In short, you have made a goldmine of a video. Thank You so much, Veretasium Team. I really love your channel, and you never cease to amaze me.

[@yuorem2826]

that’s so awesome

[@RichardJohnson_dydx]

Worst class of my life. It sucks but you'll enjoy it and get through it.

[@hopegold883]

Hope it goes well!

[@DistilledScience]

Oddly enough, as an engineer, for some reason my first thought when encountering memory shape alloys was "this could make some *really cool seasonal artwork!* "

[@PsRohrbaugh]

Be the artist you want to see!

[@kms4829]

Blooming plants but metal

[@simonmarcu01]

This wouldn't really work, because it only goes back to it's form when getting warm. You would have to manually reset it when it gets colder outside, but it would be a cool concept.

[@GamerKiwiOfficial]

It would write "hot" when its hot and "cold" back when the temperature drops

[@Alex-lk6rn]

Wow thats actually so cool. You could make objects bend to create shade when they're warmed by the sun as well

[@Jim54_]

This is why investing in space is so important. The technological developments can’t be understated

[@TheRichardSilver]

The coolest thing I've seen in a long time. All tires should be made with this material perfected.

[@hendini]

I screamed “NITINOL” the moment that the video started. I knew immediately what was happening. Fantastic video, as a Materials Engineering student, it’s neat to see the applications of material research, such as nitinol.

[@sandercohen5543]

Same, tho im not a student :)

[@rocketkinger2506]

So glad to hear Austenite and Martensite in one of your videos. I have built my career so far around these two words and it has been so rewarding. You guys probably got to see it fly on recently ;)

[@kenne210]

While watching this video I thought, this sounds like martensite. Its one of the few things I remember from college while in an engineering class. It stuck with me after a decade because it was so interesting.

[@sangamo38]

18:47 This guy has stars in his eyes while explaining things

[@soupysoup931]

I like how Veritasium shows all this to average nobodys at home ,teaching us how important all that is and what actually is going on and how valuable it is to the society and not just some hoax a couple old idiots want you to believe. Great job! Also gotta appreciate all the people involved in discovering and working on those projects

[@UltraDumbass1782]

I think one of my favorite things about channels like this is just how giddy everybody who deals with this stuff is when somebody shows an interest in what they do.

[@bradleygarlak8283]

I’ve never clicked on a video so fast. My great uncle was one of the lead engineers on the old moon rover tires. I’m so glad that they included it into this video and even though my uncle just passed away I know he would be thrilled that we are taking the next generation of tire for space travel for a spin.

[@lunar9650]

Rip grandpa you did a good service 🫡

[@smolltaco5667]

I hope the next gen space cars have v8s in them

[@rishabhagarwal6057]

@@smolltaco5667 Sorry to break it to you man, but combustion engines dont work in space. There's no oxygen for combustion up there

[@smolltaco5667]

@@rishabhagarwal6057 who said the engine has to be exactly like the ones we have down here? You could just seal it and put oxygen in it

[@cloudy7937]

​@@smolltaco5667 I'm only a STEM student and not a fully fledged engineer but I suspect that would make for a pretty short ride compared to nuclear/electric vehicles Still would be mucho cool

[@fontanelliconsultoriaeproj4909]

One thing of many that I apreciate about this channel is that you have made effort to adapt yourself to the science language of units... The metric system. Most others want to change the world instead of adapting.

[@ScottsSynthStuff]

I've been to NASA Glenn at their wheel development and testing center, it's really cool. I've seen those shape memory metal wheels, and the huge simulated Martian surface they have for testing. So cool.

[@redion8575]

@Don't Look At Profile * no one cares

[@allothernamesbutthis]

britains roads are resembling mars with all the pot holes.

[@haidernaeemmalana8601]

You wont believe i just say it too in a KZbin video

[@melkiy582]

@Don't Look At Profile в России не работает. Не видно картинки профиля

[@xelasomar4614]

The question is when will it be commercially available. Living in NYC I would love a pair for my bike.

[@jackjac]

I'm a materials science masters student and Derek presented the topic really nicely. It's close to the level I was introduced to in my bachelors. I was blown away then and guess the audience is too. Thank you!

[@ApofKol]

You are correct

[@futsalkeegan]

Those phase transition and stress strain animations would have been a game changer in the intro to materials class!

[@madmat1652]

@@mladenivanov5630 insecure much?

[@ApofKol]

@@madmat1652 Projection much?

[@captainp.2721]

Did you learn about bullshitonium yet?

[@tostupidforname]

11:21 this is one of the few 3d visualizations that actually makes sense. good job

[@bijoychandraroy]

This is mind boggling Can't wait for what's in for us in the future

[@Ragzzy-R]

shoutout to Dr. Santo. he is clearly so passionate about the science and explains it so calmly so its easy to understand.

[@carsongbaker]

That 3d stress strain diagram was incredible thank you and well done!

[@bbbenj]

These materials are amazing 😀

[@joandy2749]

So cool! You are lucky to be able to touch these things 🎉. I wish I will be able to touch (even more) these "iconic" objects too.

[@jimmylin7233]

I worked with nitinol about 25 years ago in the medical industry, when it was being heavily promoted for stents. It's a great material, lots of potential. Good stuff!

[@FutonProduction]

My job is to develop heat treat processes for mainly medical device components made out of nitinol, getting the components to transition from martensitic to austenistic at specific temperatures in all sorts of shapes, but even I was able to learn more about nitinol and it’s varied uses. Really fascinating video.

[@alexkram]

I once designed a solenoid valve that used a nitinol spring. The problem I had was the fatigue life was not good. I would get springs breaking at 100k cycles and I needed 10x that. So I abandoned nitinol for spring applications. This was 15 years ago. Have there been advances that have improved the fatigue performance? I assume tires would need very good fatigue life.

[@FutonProduction]

@@alexkram it’s possible that the strain was too close to the maximum of roughly 8%, which over time could weaken the material to the point of breaking. 3-4% strain is ideal for longevity, and would make for a relatively life-long part.

[@JorgetePanete]

its*

[@ignolan]

@@alexkram I'm also an engineer at a nitinol device manufacturer. A big factor in fatigue life is alloy purity. Companies now offer alloys with extremely low inclusions (ELI from Confluent, Enduro from Memry, etc.) You would have better luck with those alloys when considering fatigue. They are fairly recent advances so weren't available 15 years ago.

[@manuvillada5697]

How expensive is the material? Could those jeep wheels be a factible product?

[@randomgeek6035]

Awesome video. Thanks for the info about nitinol!

[@IngpulsGmbH]

Great Video & such a beautiful technology! We are always happy to work with it from day to day. :)

[@kashanalidjan7978]

It was mentioned that NiTiNOL is being used in multiple applications, which is super neat as I was able to use it for radio astronomy applications in my graduation thesis. Making large structures with NiTiNOL is way cheaper than launching and constructing them in space. The opportunities are almost endless!

[@thesmarttirecompany]

Yes, so many possibilities!

[@gabiferreira6864]

I really wonder what's the downside of this material? Is it just cost? Cause all I've heard of it is super positive, if it is as good as it sounds we could have great developments in the near future

[@kashanalidjan7978]

@@gabiferreira6864 As far as my project went, you'll order based on your specifics. I needed 1mm radius wires which had memorized as a straight line. I cut it in the size of my antenna and because of the memorized shape, I could completely bend everything to fit in the container. However, if you want to memorize custom shapes like the "Ve" or "NASA" we saw in this vid, I'd suppose you'd need to send the manufacturers specific details. My thesis was almost exactly 2 years ago, so maybe things have changed. It for sure wasn't like your typical DIY shops back then, but that made the experience feel more special

[@daxliniere]

This video just kept getting better and better. Amazing work Derek and team! Side note: Michelan debuted airless tyres about 20 years ago, so it's a shame we're still yet to see them on passenger vehicles.

[@bjarne9321]

It is because airless tires have some drawbacks such as increased weight, higher rolling resistance and higher cost, which have prevented them not yet from being widely used in passenger vehicles.

[@KeepFeedingMeImStillHungry]

@@bjarne9321 Also without a very durable/fast way to change things like vortex generators you are limiting an aircraft's maneuverability substantially let it be agility or range. Seems like an excellent material for commercial airliners running certain routes and niche projects alike. Can't wait to see if something similar can be made with different materials and/or properties.

[@Exgrmbl]

the reason is that they feel like sh*t to ride compared to pneumatic tires. They are utility wheels first and foremost.

[@jonadabtheunsightly]

Nickel and titanium are fairly expensive. I'm not sure it would be practical to use these tires on a normal consumer vehicle.

[@Truex007]

@@jonadabtheunsightly I'm not so sure about that. We're already to the point of using carbon fiber on certain parts of the engine block, namely the pistons and connecting rods. Material sciences, 3d printing, and strange new ways of looking at engineering have dramatically changed cars before, and once consider super-exotic, are now common everyday things. The tire pressure sensors in my Mazda 2 were once debuted in the Porsche 959, at one time the fastest car in the world, as such an example. it's less about cost, and more about practicality. Someone mentioned comfort. I'd rather have the occasional flat than have a ride like falling down the stairs.

[@Idiomatick]

I wish you did a segment on the downsides instead of just the upsides. There is a reason these aren't everywhere.

[@squidwardo7074]

is it just the cost or is it something else?

[@Idiomatick]

@@squidwardo7074 Oh, I'm not an expert so I was genuinely asking. Realistically, they will need to be covered so they don't fill up with junk and change the driving dynamics, and they'll need rubber tread for traction... A puncture in the tread wouldn't do a whole lot since the tires wouldn't be pressurized which is nice, thought you'd still have to patch it eventually so the tire doesn't fill up. It could have thinner rubber on the sidewalls (no pressure) but overall would probably be about as heavy due to the metal. And the price of course would be enormous. Even if they work out economy of scale issues, you're talking about doubling the cost of your tire in metal costs alone. And the only benefit is that you can't pop a tire. Probably worth it for the military and maybe some other niches. Might make sense for planes. And of course rovers. Its cool tech though so... I mean, I hope they figure out all the issues. Oh, and shape-memory metal is super super useful in a million areas they barely touched on :P its just a bit pricy

[@Ciurk]

Pretty sure it’s just the sheer cost of making it, not profitable I suppose

[@markmcculfor6113]

I've been working as a mechanical engineering intern at the company that draws this wire! They make over 90 percent of the medical wire in the entire US. I get to do so many awesome things there, including using calculus 3 to program a laser welder.

[@ThomasKing19933]

The work NASA are doing is incredible!

[@GameDevAraz]

Yeah, their gay

[@grievetan]

@@GameDevAraz cope

[@HarrDarr]

@@grievetan ur gay 2

[@TheAnnoyingBoss]

​@@grievetan no nasa is gay in a lot of ways. Look hoe gay the budget it 😂 but cool stuff comes out of it

[@mortenhyvejle]

Absolutely gay

[@bharadwaj_routhu]

The excitement in his face while Santo is explaining about the Exothermic reaction, and he being genuinely happy that Derik guessed it right, that was truly happy to look at 😁

[@lo_azzopardi]

Thank you for spreading science man

[@Le_Fenix]

This is why space exploration is awesome, it leads to some of the greatest innovations😊

[@AU_TRL]

Did my masters thesis on modelling and simulation of shape memory alloy actuators and I’m happy you are showcasing this to a broad audience. Awesome stuff

[@mykelmiller1]

The temperature, strain, stress graph at 10:58 was so helpful. Thank you!

[@earpiercing]

I've had a henson for a while now, actually the best one i've ever used

[@CMZneu]

17:44 Rubber bands also do this, get warm when stretched and cool when let go.

[@GunwantBhambra]

"elastocaloric" is the effect that happens with rubber bands too. Its exothermic when stretched and endothermic when realized. I wanted to make a cooling unit form it for so long, now I know its not just me.

[@aaron41]

Ben Krasnow made an elastocoloric refrigerator on his channel "Applied Science". He's one of my favorite youtubers!

[@thesmarttirecompany]

The effect in nitinol is unreal to feel. Look at her shocked face in the video! Now imagine that working FOR you in terms of fuel efficiency...

[@SilentSolace]

It’s technology like this that can affect entire industries that I love. There is so much that starts from space or military research that eventually is able to be used in wider applications by the public. We spend a lot in the US but stuff like this makes it worth it imo

[@haydnw869]

Too bad it wouldn’t be economically feasible or cheap enough for big companies to risk investing in

[@zriyazira]

@@haydnw869 Planned obsolescence will probably never let these tires get to the general public.

[@Konrad_K.]

Worth 1 trillion dollars??

[@lonesome3958]

​@@zriyazira *impracticality will never let these tires get to the public. These Tires may be well suited for a surface like mars, but imagine driving 100 km/h+ on asphalt. They'll deform way quicker, wont be able to handle a hard surface like roads, the heat generated by those speeds will be insane, and the average car weighing more than 1500 pounds more than a mars rover these tires just arent designed for regular consumers. And thats not even touching on the price point of these things.

[@Alceste_]

@@lonesome3958 Maybe we should stop making our cars heavier and heavier, alternately. .-.

[@cenziclopedia]

hey... I just gotta say thanks for the hundreds of videos of yours I've seen!

[@sampadization]

The Hot and cold effect was really interesting.. Never read about this effect before.. Although I knew about nitinol and other superelastic materials..

[@ovejanegra7355]

In my opinion, the best Veritasium videos are the ones that showcase awesome lab research + practical applications. What those NASA guys are doing is just brilliant, really fantastic work. Congrats to all of them!

[@filipskater]

Derek, what I love about your channel is how you treat your viewers like intelligent, educated human beings. You don't dumb down your content to the level of a five year old and you keep the clickbait to the minimum. Whenever I think youtube turned into a dumpster, your videos remind me that not all hope is lost.

[@Juxtaposed1Nmotion]

This is dumbed down lol, nothing about the physics and thermodynamics except for "bend rod get hot"

[@filipskater]

@@Juxtaposed1Nmotion How's high school kid?

[@Juxtaposed1Nmotion]

@@filipskater you tell me son.

[@erikpasquale9902]

@@Juxtaposed1Nmotion why so condescending

[@killer115ish]

Woagh tire that uses no air can be punctured??? Impossible, puncture it anyway, in fact shoot it. Because we think our viewers are dumb

[@bodinian]

This became more interesting the more I watched. This is captivating content!

[@RayOpp1]

I remember the Ridgway Banks nitinol engine, I think he created it in the mid 70's (search it, it's amazing). Over the years I've often thought about the missed opportunities we did by suppressing it. I still would like to see some efficiency and scalability of these types of engines in places like Greenland that have hot springs surrounded by extra winter cold.

[@amritanshubarpanda1325]

The last segment of shaping the nitinol to "Ve"was a great touch. Do that everytime with the things you make videos about. It adds a certain feel to the videos. Like with the cement video, you could have carved "Ve" into some permanent structure while the cement was setting.

[@itsbishop2285]

that’d be sick

[@lombre9149]

@Repent and believe in Jesus Christ Jesus aint taking these wheehls

[@lombre9149]

ok mobile youtube is so fucked i cant even edit my typo this si so sad

[@hydropotimus]

I'm a racer, trucks, motorcyles, sand dunes and I loved this video! The spring interlay, layout reminds me of when I used snow chains in the sand dunes with a 1 wheel drive truck and tiny street tires, it worked.

[@GoldenGrenadier]

Broken axle or just an open diff?

[@ShannonJacobs0]

The google will quickly censor this question: Why are KZbin comments packed with circle-jerking sock puppets? Obvious, as are the countermeasures--but the google wants fake "engagement", the better to sell clueless ads.

[@mastershooter64]

Damn you're a racer and you're a truck and a motorcycle and you're a sand dune?? that's awesome dude I hope I can be a sand dune one day

[@iddet8867]

Very informative and fantastic!

[@justinlawlor3898]

This is amazing, everything should be made of this stuff

[@tfr]

Although simple, wheels are taken for granted so much. They’re so awesome and a great invention Great video :)

[@briteeyes2133]

Why not use in tires on earth? Because it would put companies out of business. Everything on earth they make to be replaced, over and over and over again. $$$$$$

[@harmish9265]

​@@briteeyes2133 watch from 22:08

[@briteeyes2133]

@Harmish :) yes, they know they would work on earth but I seriously doubt they would mass manufacture them for the average man on the streets. Much like the free energy Tesla discovered or the cars people invented that ran on water, it would cause the shutdown of major corporations. There are so many great inventions not available to the average man. Many inventions that the govt will buy the patent just so it cannot be manufactured for use by civilians.

[@lonesome3958]

​@@briteeyes2133 impracticality will never let these tires get to the public. These Tires may be well suited for a surface like mars, but imagine driving 100 km/h+ on asphalt. They'll deform way quicker, wont be able to handle a hard surface like roads, the heat generated by those speeds will be insane, and the average car weighing more than 1500 pounds more than a mars rover these tires just arent designed for regular consumers. And thats not even touching on the price point of these things.

[@leftaroundabout]

@@briteeyes2133 it's hard to appreciate just how good pneumatic rubber tyres are. The rubber fulfills three roles at the same time (containing the air, deforming around unevennesses, and giving traction to the ground), whilst the air manages to support a big weight with very little obstruction to the deformations / rolling. Those nitinol tyres do a formidable job at replacing this functionality, but they can't do it all as well as pneumatics. Unless you need your tyres to work at insane temperatures or survive deliberate perforation (and can't use liquid sealant), there's just no point.

[@Rodrigo93vg]

One more interesting application is on seismic design of structures. During my undergrad I worked at the laboratory of the University of Ottawa with 2 PhD students that were investigating how to use Nitinol rebars and external reinforcement. Goal was to to allow for additional strain without failure of structures and to potentially recover the deformation under severe seismic events =)

[@DaHolyCanadian]

Yo that is honestly so cool, must've been an amazing opportunity to work with those guys

[@ajbutch123]

I remember reading about a guy talking about finding a 'strange foil' at the Roswell after the craft crashed. Not sure if that story was verified, but it sure sounds like something very close to this alloy. Sounds like a secret aircraft project using some advanced alloys and stuff.

[@Tysard]

This material is mind blowing.

[@the4fibs832]

Shoutout to Cameron Hughes for using nitinol in his fashion designs. He runs a current through the wire and the piece changes shape - length of skirt, structure of shoulders, etc. Very cool.

[@lsdave]

The people that work at this company are some of the luckiest people in our workforce.... you can just tell how excited they all are to show what they are developing which they all seem to love. Love what you do and never work a day in your life.

[@franzjones179]

⭐️ id luv those bicycle tires and the shaver... 👍

[@akaaka9091]

You have some cool cinematographeers for sure.... Love the video

[@otavioalmeida6638]

Great video! I'm doing a PhD in a lab where people explore the potential of NiTi, it's really cool to see it being diffused by you guys!

[@HeisenbergFam]

It warms my heart to see Veritasium giving a kind shoutout to unknown agencies like NASA

[@tfr]

Yeah. Who even is NASA? No Apples Saturday Afternoon? Why do we need an agency for saturday afternoon apples?

[@dummmee5736]

so nice of him

[@docilelikewintercatfish9897]

NASA is so underrated. They deserve so much popularity

[@docilelikewintercatfish9897]

​@Don't Look At Profile ok

[@davidholliday6772]

Reminds me of what people described about the strange metal foils they found at the Roswell UFO crash site. Eye witnesses crumpled up the foil in their hands only to have it uncrumple when they opened up their hands.

[@Jwalk9000]

In the late 90s, I used the NiTNOL wires from my braces to make to make "muscles" for some simple robots. Pretty incredible stuff.

[@joaocarlosrms]

As a welding engineer this is music to my ears! Love Veritasium! Cheers from Lisbon 👌

[@knaspelut]

Ok, this is the first time I hear about Nitinol. I've not been this enthralled by the science behind a material before. It''s actually extremely interesting. I wanna know more! :D

[@stephenolan5539]

I had a small piece of it 40 years ago. I read about it in a Science magazine and they had a contest.

[@JorgetePanete]

It's*