The Polymer That Bends Reality: Scientists Create Shape-Shifting "Lantern" With 12+ Forms

Researchers have created a polymer “Chinese lantern” that can snap into more than a dozen curved, three-dimensional shapes by compressing or twisting the original structure. This rapid shape-shifting behavior can be controlled remotely using a magnetic field, allowing the structure to be used for a variety of applications. Credit :Yaoye Hong, NC State University

What if a single object could transform itself into more than a dozen completely different shapes—not gradually, but with a sudden snap? Scientists at North Carolina State University have made this sci-fi concept real with a clever polymer structure inspired by Chinese lanterns.

Here's how it works. Take a polymer sheet, cut it into a diamond pattern, then slice parallel lines across the middle to create connected ribbons. Connect the ends, and you've got a spherical lantern. Simple enough, right?

But here's where things get wild. This lantern exists in two stable forms simultaneously. In its natural state, it sits there peacefully as a lantern. Push down from the top, though, and something remarkable happens. The structure resists at first, storing energy like a coiled spring, until it reaches a tipping point. Then—snap!—it transforms into a spinning-top shape in an instant.

"It's bistable," explains Jie Yin, the lead researcher. Pull up on that spinning top, and all that stored energy releases at once, causing it to snap back to lantern form with surprising speed.

The team discovered they could create even more shapes by twisting the structure or folding its solid strips inward or outward. Some variations toggle between two forms. One particularly complex version has four stable states, depending on whether you're compressing it, twisting it, or doing both simultaneously.

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To make things even more intriguing, the researchers embedded a magnetic film at the base. Now they could trigger these transformations remotely using magnetic fields. They demonstrated a gripper that gently grasped fish, a filter controlling water flow, and a collapsed tube that explosively expanded on command.

The applications are just beginning. The team developed a mathematical model that lets them program exactly which shape they want, how stable it should be, and how much power it releases when snapping. These lantern units could eventually assemble into larger architectures for soft robotics and shape-morphing materials.

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