Memory wire is bent into a letter “U” or any desired shape. When placed in boiling water or suspended above steam, the wire snaps to the letter “Y” to represent BYU.
Set Up
Shape the memory wire into the “U” (using the mold, with the wire welds at the bottom of the U to prevent the wire from springing out of the water as it changes shape) or into any desired shape. Boil 2-3 inches of water on a hot plate. Place memory wire next to hot plate with tweezers.
Safety
Be careful with boiling water.
Clean-up/Disposal
Remove the wire from the water, and pour out the water. Re-form the memory wire to the U shape and store it with the mold.
Chemistry
Memory wire is a patented Nickel-Titanium alloy called NiTinol. NiTinol memory metal has two crystalline phase forms with a transition temperature between 30º and 50º C. Below the transition temperature, the memory wire is in a solid phase that is flexible, called the Martensite phase. Above the transition temperature, the NiTi alloy prefers the Austenite phase which is characterized by its rigidity. The memory wire alloy crystal consists of tiny planar areas called crystallites. Several metal atoms are bound together as one small cluster of metal atoms. When the wire is bent below the transition temperature, the bonds between the crystallites flex slightly.
When the alloy is heated into the Austenite phase, the planes are slid back into place and the structure reverts to its original form. The Martensite structure has 24 different variants to carry out this transformation and, as a result, can be deformed in nearly any direction. Thus, the metal appears to 'remember' its original shape. However, if the wire is bent at a temperature above 500 °C, the crystallites reorient to take on a new shape.
This new shape can also be bent at temperatures below the transition phase.
“U to the Y”: Drop the “U” shaped piece of memory wire into the boiling water. It will immediately re-form into the “Y.” Pull out with tweezers and present to the class. The experiment does not work well at temperatures below 80 °C. The punchline of the demonstration is “when the heat is on, the Y will always come out on top” or something similar.
If a slower reaction is desired, suspend the “U” above the steam with a ring stand. It takes approximately 5 minutes for U to slowly morph to the Y.