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Materials science

A light-fuelled wave machine

Nature volume 546, pages 604–606 (2017)Cite this article

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A polymer that incorporates liquid-crystal components generates continuous mechanical waves when lit by ultraviolet light, with potential applications for energy harvesting and self-cleaning surfaces. See Letter p.632

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Figure 1: Continuous waves in a liquid-crystal network.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. the Department of Materials Science and the State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200433, China

    Yanlei Yu

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  1. Yanlei Yu
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Correspondence to Yanlei Yu.

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Yu, Y. A light-fuelled wave machine. Nature 546, 604–606 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/546604a

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