It looks like Bender (from Futurama) could be a reality. Nanotechnologists at the University of Texas, Dallas, are working on artificial muscle structures powered by methanol. Says Ray Baughman, "The first type of muscle is made from a nickel-titanium shape-memory wire coated in a platinum catalyst. When fumes of methanol, hydrogen and oxygen pass over the platinum coating, they react, releasing heat that warms the wire, making it contract...The wire muscle can generate 100 times the force of a natural muscle of the same size."
Jokingly, he also states, "One day you could find yourself sitting in a bar next to a humanoid robot, who is taking a shot of vodka to give himself the energy to go to work."
methanol or ethanol??
