Much like sphere packing, crystalline materials can be similarly described via periodic packing of cylinders in 3D space. In this instance, the cylinders represented rods of strongly bonded atoms or ...

Tensegrity structures comprise isolated compressive members suspended within a continuous network of tensioned elements, yielding lightweight yet remarkably resilient systems. The inherent self-stress ...

Catastrophic collapse of materials and structures is the inevitable consequence of a chain reaction of locally confined damage—from solid ceramics that snap after the development of a small crack to ...

Engineers describe the creation of a new class of mechanical metamaterials that delocalize deformations to prevent failure. They did so by turning to tensegrity, a century-old design principle in ...