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Some metal alloys will “remember†a shape when you heat them to the same temperature they were originally shaped at. So a straight wire made from one of these “shape memory alloys†might change back into a spring when heated, or vice versa. But the alloys that exist today change shape at low temperatures. Materials scientists at Sandia National Laboratory have developed new alloys that don’t change shape until they reach hundreds of degrees, opening the door to thousands of new applications.