7 Materials That Defy the Laws of Physics

There are tons of scientific laws out there. You’ve heard of them: Kepler’s Laws of Planetary Motion, the Universal Law of Gravitation, Newton’s Laws of Motion, you get the idea. But let’s be honest, very few of us can actually recite what those laws state word for word. We mostly remember the basics, like what goes up must come down, or that extreme heat usually makes things melt.

Yet, our planet is full of substances that seem to challenge the very rules we’ve set in place. Here are seven of the craziest materials that appear to defy the laws of physics.

1. Carbon Nanotubes

If any material deserves to be called “Super Material,” it’s this one. Just looking at it, carbon nanotubes don’t seem like anything special, but little would you know that this is one of the strongest materials on Earth.

Carbon nanotubes are an allotrope of carbon, which is a variation of an element with a different atomic structure. This difference can produce a wide array of substances from the same core element. For example, another allotrope of carbon is a diamond. What gives the nanotube its incredible force is its $\text{sp}^2$ bonds, which are actually more powerful than the diamond’s $\text{sp}^3$ bonds.

2. Gallium

This is a really special element because it has a relatively low melting point, just above room temperature. While it’s often used in electronics, what makes it so distinct is its ability to melt right in a person’s hand. It’s like the opposite of an ice cube!

Even crazier, it will refreeze when it’s removed from your palm. When it reaches its freezing point, the liquid metal can even “supercool,” which is when a substance remains in liquid form even though it is at or below its freezing point.

3. Sodium Acetate (“Hot Ice”)

Sodium acetate is used in heating pads and in the textile industry. However, its most notable quality can be demonstrated through a simple experiment:

1. Add sodium acetate crystals and water together.
2. Heat the solution until the crystals fully dissolve.
3. Let it cool.

This creates a super-saturated solution. Adding just a few extra crystals to this liquid will cause a crazy reaction: crystallisation occurs at an incredibly rapid rate. The resulting solid is called “hot ice.” Its name comes from the fact that it is created through an exothermic reaction, which releases energy. It’s a true contradiction, as “ice” is formed, but the reaction generates heat.

4. Terminator Polymer (Self-Healing Polymers)

From paper cuts to broken bones, injuries are a pain to deal with. How nice it would be if things could just automatically heal?

Believe it or not, researchers have developed a polymer that can do just that. Appropriately named, the Terminator polymer (or similar self-healing polymers) is able to manage this feat by reforming any broken cross-linking bonds. While creating a self-healing material usually requires some external stimulus to begin the process, researchers were able to create a polymer that, when sliced with a razor blade, displayed a 97% healing efficiency in just two hours.

5. Nitinol (Shape Memory Alloy)

The skill of memorisation isn’t unique to people; even metal has it!

This is Nitinol, an alloy of nickel and titanium that exhibits both shape memory and super-elasticity. Basically, Nitinol can be bent into a random shape when it’s below its transformation temperature. However, when it is heated above that temperature, the alloy reverts to its original shape.

This unique characteristic makes it incredibly beneficial when used as orthopaedic implants and in less invasive medical devices.

6. Liquid Glass (Silicon Dioxide Spray)

While it sounds impossible, liquid glass is a simple yet effective invention: a silicon dioxide ultra-thin, anti-bacterial spray that can coat virtually anything. It is an extremely flexible material because it is so thin, only about 100 nanometers thick.

This incredibly thin coating repels dirt, water, bacteria, UV light, acids, and even heat. It truly is a revolutionary invention.

7. Zinc Cyanide

Finally, we have a substance that outright defies the common law of physics. Ask yourself: what happens when you compress something? It should get smaller, right? Well, not in this case.

Zinc cyanide does the exact opposite of what it’s supposed to do. Its bonds rearrange themselves completely, which is incredibly rare for these types of substances. When researchers put the substance in a diamond anvil cell, a device used to create very high pressure, and cranked the pressure up, the zinc cyanide was transformed into a porous structure. It’s literally like trying to turn coal into a diamond and ending up with a sponge instead!