Rubbery Metal

Researchers from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University claim to have come up with a metal that can dampen vibrations, just like rubber. Their exotic material is a composite consisting of ceramic particles embedded in a metal matrix. The metal provides strength and stiffness, while the ceramics have a curious property known as ferroelasticity, meaning vibrations are converted into tiny rotations of crystals within the material. The composite offers the strength of a conventional metal with the vibration-dampening properties of rubber