Strange Materials with Mark Miodownik

Materials are a defining characteristic of society. The ages of civilization are named after materials and the development of new materials do more than simple transform technology: they change behaviour and shape the urban landscape, from our cities and our hospitals, to our homes and our art.
Mark's book "Stuff Matters: The Strange Stories of the Marvellous Materials that Shape Our Man-made World" is available to buy now - www.amazon.co.uk/Stuff-Matter...
In this Ri Discourse, Professor Mark Miodownik introduces us to the innovations that are shaping a new materials age, one that blurs the fundamental distinction between living and non-living things and challenges the very notion of material itself.
From ferrofluid to the revolution that is 3D printing, Mark points to the materials and innovations that will shape our future. Just as bionic limbs and synthetic organs are becoming the norm so our man-made environment is also changing to become more lifelike. Are living buildings and objects that heal-themselves are on the horizon?
This Friday Evening Discourse was held at the Royal Institution of Great Britain on 22 February 2013.
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[@patrissiacuberos8248]

I found this programme soooo exciting, and Mike's attitude to everyday miracles fantastic. I wish more people would share that amazing capability of amazement and amazing others.

[@marktwain622]

"Gentlemen, we can rebuild him. We have the technology. We have the capability to build the world's first bionic man. Steve Austin will be that man. Better than he was before. Better, stronger, faster." Awesome...

[@MsGnor]

Awesome talk, what a guy! Standing in Michael Farraday's footsteps ... I shed a tear. Well done. Love Mark's boyish excitement and wonder at all this stuff. Wish my science lectures had been more along these lines. Thank heavens for the internet.

[@mikedingus]

Mark's sense of wonder , and his ability to portray that wonder is simply amazing.

[@Decurionvids]

its iron nanofilings. i made a wall-mounted interactive display with the stuff in my product design project.

[@marcmarc172]

What a fantastic lecturer. Thanks Mark Miodownik and Ri!

[@icenarsin5283]

Amazing lecture - Thank you.

[@errolsmith8659]

amazing presentation... we have come a long way us humans...

[@ArcherKam]

Just as good watching it for a second time! Great lecture

[@grindsushigrind]

What an amazing way of adding his own accidents and injuries to the talk. Almost feels like it was all planned right from the beginning xD I'm also immensely re-motivated about learning to be able to 3D model stuff. I've tried and given up before, multiple times. You know, the vicious cycles of 'install Blender' and 'uninstall Belnder'. But I think, this time, I'm going to really give it my best. I've got all the time. Let's see where it goes :) Oh, and I almost forgot in my rambling, great talk, good sir!

[@benjaminimasogie9911]

Quite an Amazing Presentation!

[@TheAngryAstronomer]

Mad that this was in 2013 and here I am watching this in 2018 as my very own 3d printer finishes the part I just designed tonight.

[@FelipeAcunaViera]

And i'm listening to it through the headphones i printed myself, love this tech!

[@siwilson1437]

I've just replaced three tiny circuit boards on mine for about £8 each, that make it print almost completely silently, and use less power, and give an even smoother movement through interpolation. Oh and they detect when they hit something by watching for changes in current in the motor, so you don't need the limit switches on each axis any more. I hope we can upgrade our own parts just as easily one day!

[@richhagenchicago]

Odd, but I happen to be 3d printing some parts while watching this in 2020 as well. Just some battery spacers, but still rather remarkable.

[@processparajuli]

I'm watching it during 2020 lockdown!

[@guernica69]

Fascinating, and I thought the presenter did an outstanding job. Charming, intelligent, and funny (despite what the idiotic poster beneath me seems to think). Well done Mr. Miodownik, and thanks to Ri for making this content available!

[@Grandpa82547]

I'm seeing those posters more lately(2018). Do those people think I am so stupid that I need to be told what to think?

[@kaoskryst6688]

Informative and entertaining guest! One of my favorites so far!

[@panostriantaphillou766]

Excellent. It might be time for an update lecture though.

[@ChristianRussell]

Dang what a compelling topic, tying so many disciplines together. It reminds me of the sentiments expressed in Out of Control and The Age of Spiritual Machines. These issues have been being discussed for many years, but seeing technology continue to move in this direction is just fascinating to watch. Many people have expressed fear that tech will eventually take over, and we'll eventually become it's slave. It's arguable that we've long since crossed that threshold. We're already there.

[@likesrush]

That's a really great, inspiring, entertaining, informative lecture. The possibilities are staggering on so many levels. I think that of all technologies, the interface between us and other machines and other materials, will affect us the most in the future. We could actually evolve from our 1-step-away from cavemen, to our next incarnation, more fitting of our potential. Maybe 2-steps away. I hope more.

[@glutinousmaximus]

Outstanding :0) Thanks for posting!

[@lucasm.czajkowski7686]

This guy is amazing!!

[@eldritchedward]

Huh. Didn't expect that. Thanks for the link :)

[@colinpamplin9976]

Amazing presentation really interesting - thank you

[@TheHimmus]

Printinator rise of the machines: Out of ink. Coming this July 2014.

[@pankajjaiswal6498]

Amazing !

[@kriggs1119]

i clicked on this thinking it was a cool 5 min video and ended up watching the whole thing!

[@MoJoM0J01]

This video was inspirational. thank you so much for creating and posting this content. I am about to fire up my 3D printer again :)

[@Brakvash]

You may have confused half the lot of the people in this comment section, but you didn't confuse me! Thank you Mark, for a inspiring talk :)

[@eldritchedward]

Sometimes I am completely stunned by how far technology has come.

[@hightwelve9991]

This guy needs his own tv show.

[@xylinx1]

Wow, was that ever interesting. Nicely done, sir.

[@tensevo]

It seems like we are moving towards a mechanical heart/organ/bone that dissolves away as stem cells build genuine organic tissue around the skeleton mechanical framework.

[@DarkAsSilver]

I love mark =D he's the one who introduced me to materials science.

[@mikeroosa2528]

could the self replicating printers be compared a kind of cell replication?

[@jorgepeterbarton]

we had a 3d printer that used paper laminations in the 90s at school..resulting in an mdf/wasp nest material-like object... i'm surprised it took this long to get this far, but its about finding the effective material to use perhaps..

[@extropiantranshuman]

I like the track this guy is on. Nifty comparison at 51:30

[@macbuff81]

Amalgam, made in part of mercury which itself is highly poisonous even in small doses. The best filling for cavities is no filling at all which means preventing cavities in the first place. The next best thing would be to actually regrow enamel which is something that's being researched as we speak.

[@PutuDharmaMahaYusa]

When'll the next lecture be? Is there any lecture about Einstein relativity theory?

[@jonathangwynne1917]

Isn't bromine also liquid at room temperature (liquid from 19F to 138F)? Also, gallium liquifies at 85F which is slightly above what most people call room-temperature but still within the range of temperatures found in an ordinary home.

[@dalitas]

Jonathan Gwynne bromine is on the very edge of liquid gas transition, it fumes so much that within a few minutes it usually has already evaporated that said I too Count bromine as a liquid

[@davidconner-shover51]

yes, and neither form very nice materials for use in body. Mercury, while rather highly toxic, as he stated, forms amalgams with other metals and doesn't leach when set

[@inishbofin1792]

Hooray for mechanics too.

[@carlclifford64]

Fairly recently, I had cataracts removed from both eyes and both lenses were replaced. I only need glasses for reading now. It was certainly interesting being awake, while someone was rummaging around in your eyeballs.

[@rickhanover6267]

Stem cell technology is the way forward (sometimes with a scaffold) in comparison 3D printing technology is clumsy and limiting. Repairing nerve tissue or the circulatory system will come with stem cell technology.

[@briseboy]

Ahhh! the single intelligent comment on THIS, and perhaps ANY, KZbin comment page!

[@qe2eqe]

woulda been cooler if you dropped the distance inverse square on the sound pressure (I'm gonna use hearing protection but you'll be fine...)

[@Quintinohthree]

Yeah, oil and some granular ferromagnetic material. At most working temperatures, that can be iron, cobalt, nickel or a whole host of compounds.

[@ianian8022]

heh heh heh. I love the bleepy-bloopy machine-gone-wrong noises his gizmo makes in the background. absolutely brilliant. if it can make a cup of tea then we will be away.😃

[@Deniecu]

Good to see that some people still understand at least a few words of latin :)

[@Desmaad]

The "ferro" could also refer to ferromagnetism-the strong, attractive form that makes magnets work.

[@dumbo800]

The great thing about science is that we don't have to repeatedly experiment on ourselves, particularly when people have done that experiment countless times.

[@pyrotash]

The windpipe was featured in a documentary the doctor involved was in big trouble as all attempts to use the windpipe ended up killing the patient. Look it up!!

[@briseboy]

If one keeps the windpipe exteriorized while swimming above coral reefs, the killing is rare, except in the presence of territorially irascible tiger sharks. Germans refer to the object as a snorkel, though unlike sleeping drunks, the prosthetic does not render the breather onomatopoeic..

[@creator4413]

This made my leg throb!

[@Anonarchist]

Organs are a network of pipes and tubes, just like the internet. Awesome, now I'm totally gonna ace my bio final!

[@danahansen5427]

As a bit of comedy relief on the macro level of construction we have Marvin the Paranoid Android. Did he ever get all those diodes replaced?

[@DanielSultana]

As far as I know, the body does use minute amounts of mercury, therefore, a person with such fillings won't be affected with such leaching, as far as he/she does not take-in more mercury (the person will have to avoid foods that are high in mercury such as seafood)

[@Sebi20070]

He says: That was the Introduction. I'd totally like to do this when i have to hold a speech in front of my class. That was my introduction and now i am going to make a little joke to bring you int he mood for the main part :D

[@tgmnewman]

sadly more often than not you end up studying "Engineering Materials" which after 2 years just seems to me to be a summation of the properties of Concrete and Steel. Flubber had us all misguided bro.

[@grantkohler7612]

When he mentioned printing out organs, I thought of using Star Trek Replicators making a rack of lamb. I figure the only major difference is cooked or un-cooked?

[@hudaalahmadi4533]

helpful

[@eldritchedward]

...I anticipate an equivalent to the so called App Store. This is just so insane...

[@eduardbakker8564]

That story about the working of that 3Dprinter (31:48). Is that right "twice the melting temperature"? The meltingpoint of polylactic acid is about 423k can it realy stand heating up to 846k

[@beeble2003]

Probably he meant 150C --> 300C. This is why one shouldn't talk about multiplying temperatures.

[@extropiantranshuman]

what if, while a surgeon is removing something, they use a 3d pen to recreate what they took out (provided it was replacement surgery) right then and there? Then they don't have to wait for a printer to print.

[@darranhanlon8709]

this is amazing stuff, yet still a while off before it really helps people to any great extent,, but still amazing non the less! my concern about nano technology is it getting into the wrong hands,,, and what can be done with it when pure evil gets its hands on it!! I'm wondering what we could do prevent that??

[@briseboy]

Pure plastic as evidenced in this video, HAS gotten its hands on things. Evil, though is in the eye of the handler; witness Professor Putin presupposing that penetrating and pervading Ukraine with projectiles to perish the population, is permitted by his philosophies.

[@8aemi]

coolest guy ever!! :)

[@briseboy]

Coolest guy ever was Otzi, until removed from his glacier.

[@mikeroosa2528]

like could we create something that creates things by building different versions of itself?

[@danahansen5427]

And more seriously, we may be looking at early 'replicator' technology.

[@tahaanwar5577]

man those shoes are fancy AF

[@briseboy]

Other occupations beside the Air Force wear shoes, many, like professional runners and drag queens, much fancier..

[@fakeaccount663]

the intro to dues ex human revolution is better than the six million dollar man and its a similar plot

[@GoodmanDontLai]

So those people not know what a ferrofluid was in the beginning or what?

[@fakeaccount663]

search ferrofluid in youtube there are some pretty cool videos on it

[@aaaa6824]

News about the man who had his windpipe (trachea) replaced... he died soon after the surgery which was in 2012. So I think he had passed by the time this was presented, oof.

[@kirstinstrand6292]

Reigning in our desires for more, is always difficult.

[@briseboy]

@@kirstinstrand6292 reining. Refers to controlling horses, NOT inundation by scores of kingly and queenly persons.

[@trexpaddock]

The technology is great . . . it is just that where I live, there are no doctors available to see you, so it all becomes rather a moot point.

[@dannydetonator]

So are you from Alaska Siberia or closer to the South pole?

[@dumbo800]

Meaning elemental Iron. Not an oxide or any of the countless other molecules Iron forms.

[@davidhawley1132]

Wow, the geek is strong in this one.

[@mohamedaminehenchir297]

some coherence would make the lecture much much better

[@woody9382000]

We have computers that can design a computer that is superior to a human-designed computer, and now 3D printers that can reproduce components and possibly computers... that's just a little scary.

[@eXtremeDR]

What about the hottest of all subjects - turning energy into matter? I haven't seen any lecture about this, only a few articles and inside rumors.

[@Quicksilver_Cookie]

What we want is efficient ways of turning matter into energy. Otherwise it's just recreational physics for the fun of it :)

[@eXtremeDR]

MrCorvusC How about bending light around a infinite small point?

[@TheXitone]

e=mc2 thats a lot of energy !!!

[@kidShibuya]

Watching this thinking yeah so? Then see its from 2013... Right on.

[@somebodyhadtosayit]

Jeff Foxworthy watched this video and said, "I still don't know how Jello works."

[@sirvapalot]

the joy of cooking jelly for yourself and to eat it or incorporate it i want my own 3d printer really bad

[@richarddeese1991]

The word I believe you're looking for is "synthesis." You're welcome! ;) tavi.

[@Graham_Wideman]

What?

[@josephgalarneau7177]

where are all the strange materials ?

[@darekflint9202]

I was thinking you could print a fake flexible skin mesh for burn victims out of super glue micro rings,if you can use it to bind wounds why not a fabric skin,then soak hand in your own skin cell solution to regrow your skin.

[@Palifiox]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spray-on_skin

[@doktormcnasty]

Codenwarra Cove Haha - nice going you totally showed him@

[@Palifiox]

***** Give him some credit for a good idea. The fact that it's already been done doesn't mean it can't be done better.

[@doktormcnasty]

Codenwarra Cove Meh, it was redundant and derivative and therefore a waste of time and energy. I considered your thought on the matter but I'm still going to stick by my original assessment.

[@nicksoltysiak7726]

***** I implore you to reconsider.

[@eagames456]

Right on the first thing, but the description of ferromagnetism is wrong.

[@JohnGallagher2560]

inspector gadget?

[@0Dimac]

I wonder what current big business thinks of such technologies? How long until they try to dismantle such a 'disruptive' technology (or delay it at least)?

[@beeble2003]

They won't, because it isn't disruptive to big business. As he said, you can't compete with a pen manufacturer by using 3d printing -- they can make thousands of pens a minute, and you need hours to make just one. Think about how little home (2D) printing disrupted the book publishing industry: not at all.

[@jonilarsen-haikarainen8733]

I have a Reprap Ormerod :D

[@foreverken3377]

Awesome bro can i borrow it

[@jaxnean2663]

His book (stuff matters) is an interesting and informing read

[@thanatos90025]

That's generally how talks work.

[@MrBGeonzon]

I read this and thought to myself "Printer Printing Other Printers that can print more printers..."

[@jorgepeterbarton]

But aren't we limited by the plastic used in 3d printing...they say we can print a liver, but is that actually possible, i mean is it actually any more realistic than saying the same thing when the sewing machine was invented...stem cells, GM and nano tech seem more likely..

[@liltonyabc]

What do you put the stem cells on? A 3-d printed material.

[@jamesbezuk6434]

Yes, and he explains the physics behind it at 6:00, and in a much more informative manner than "it's basically iron metal in oil", which is not very interesting and most importantly, incomplete.

[@PongoXBongo]

Why does no one talk about brain interfacing with implants? If you can control a prosthetic hand, then you should be able to control a 'smart' kidney, or blood-borne nanomachines. You could essentially puppetize yourself.

[@Graham_Wideman]

People have been talking about brain interfacing for decades.

[@briseboy]

Intelligent kidney rules world! or did you mean the sensation of being punched in the lower back? And nanomachines cannot be born of blood, as corpuscles no longer have nuclei containing DNA, and do not replicate. Borne = carried .

[@PongoXBongo]

@@briseboy Thank you, spelling corrected.

[@Valchrist1313]

43:40 hmm. I was under the impression that this series was aimed at an audience including children.

[@ckmishn3664]

I've known babies who spent extended time drinking from those. What's the problem?

[@sydbart]

Valchrist1313

[@nikkim7012]

people are made of organs, of tissues, cells, proteins, atoms.. But robot, phone, phone-cord, gears, then microscopic parts? lol, Why not just do a computer, a hard-drive, hard-drive parts, then microscopic parts? lol I was so confused until he explained what he meant bc the slide wasn't gonna suffice lol.

[@briseboy]

To the contrary, organs are made of people. THIS is the way DNA, transcription, and epigenetic processes work, NOT the reverse, as your sentence erroneously claims.

[@demetkekilli2730]

He was very nervous but he tried his best, I think.

[@MrRelentlessFun]

18:05 couldn't poop before your xray?

[@jambozx]

the moving printed items he's showing are printed with a $40000 printer, not the one on the table right now.

[@YulDlima]

i wish i studied materials

[@briseboy]

You studied your spelling materials well enough to incorporate two multisyllabic words in a single sentence. You are a genius when compared to MOST KZbin commenters!

[@puravpatel008]

Good talk. But i think genetics is ahead of material science as far as replacing organ goes .

[@ellicopter1]

a self replicating computer, jeez thats actually quite scary, in 100 years time there will probly be lots of 3D printers, and they'l be smarter, and they'l be able to connect to each other, can you imagine if one of these became self aware and decided it didnt like us :O

[@jmtholmbo]

FERROFLUID.... why is know one saying that, or yelling it?

[@TheRoyalInstitution]

FERROFLUID! kzbin.info/www/bejne/onbZh5aXetKdoNE

[@Graham_Wideman]

Why is no one yelling " 'no one' NOT 'know one' "?

[@jamesrothwell8693]

SHOES

[@gbiota1]

56:00 I dont think this guy really believes pigeons are on the level of microcomputers.

[@shrike6259]

really he holds a magnet close to ferro-fluid and wants to mesmerizer us thats it's a live ? geez.