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Nature Materials 8, 854–855 (1 November 2009) | doi:10.1038/nmat2551

Magnetic shape memory: Magnetoelastic sponges

Mehmet Acet

The discovery of giant magnetic-field-induced strains of about 10% in single crystals of the magnetic shape-memory alloy Ni–Mn–Ga under 2-T magnetic fields (attainable by permanent magnets) brought a new dimension to the concept and design of field-triggered actuators. However, because Ni–Mn–Ga single crystals are difficult to grow, costly and brittle, investments in wide-spread applications of such actuators have been very limited.