Your next iPhone could be built with tools inspired by ant teeth
Researchers are using atom probe tomography to get to the bottom of how an ant’s bite is so powerful. The hope is to utilize the tech to make even smaller electronics.
Thinner than a strand of human hair, the insects’ miniature chompers can bite down forcefully enough to cut through sturdy leaves without suffering any damage. It all has to do with the teeth’s even arrangement of zinc atoms, which allow for equal distribution of force each time the creatures crunch on something. That feature, researchers say, can one day be applied to human-made tools.
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