Springs made from rusty metallic glass could power nanorobots

Tiny tubes of rusty glass are surprisingly springy, which may show helpful in powering nanorobotic gadgets.

Most metals oxidise when left within the air – when this occurs in iron, it’s known as rusting – which might change their properties, corresponding to making them extra brittle or much less dense.

Yong Yang at Metropolis College of Hong Kong and his colleagues discovered that after they oxidised copper and zirconium nanotubes of metallic glass, which…