[McFry]

Hi All,

I've been looking for a substance with the following two traits:

• Expands in the presence of an electric current, and...
• Is transparent

I've scoured the web but I don't believe I've been using the appropriate terminology when searching (I have a lay understanding of chemistry). If any of you know of a material with these traits or have advice to offer to help me in my search, I'd be very interested to hear!

Many Thanks!!

[Yggdrasil]

Try searching for piezoelectric materials.  Here's a place to start:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piezoelectricity

[McFry]

Thanks! 

Piezoelectric materials are a great start but since it looks most most reverse piezoelectric reactions only cause a change in shape by a marginal amount (e.g. .1%), I'm looking for a substance which operates with greater efficiency (at least 2 orders of magnitude).

At least I'm starting to pick up the terminology

[McFry]

Some more searching has led me to Dielectric Electroactive Polymers (the stuff they use for artificial muscles) but while they have low-power requirements and are efficient, they don't seem cheap to make OR transparent (but I could be wrong about this).

Any idea where they may sell samples of this stuff (maybe it's in a science fair project kit or something)?

I'll keep looking...

[billnotgatez]

http://www.robotstore.com/

You may have to make something that is clear which is stretched with something like muscle wire. You may need to rely on some mechanical engineering as well as chemistry.