Magnets make a new soft metamaterial stiffen up in a flash
The material could be used to make adaptive robots and body armor
![metamaterial unit cells](https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/120618_mt_metamaterials_feat.jpg?fit=860%2C460&ssl=1)
MAGNETICALLY MALLEABLE A new magnetically tunable metamaterial contains many “unit cells” (like these pictured above) composed of plastic tubes filled with tiny bits of iron and oil.
J.A. Jackson