Artist and maker Zoe Laughlin is a co-founder/director of the Institute of Making and the Materials Library project. As they define themselves, the Materials Library is a collection of some of the most wondrous materials on earth. It is a resource, laboratory, studio and playground for the curious and material-minded.
From their collection, I have selected a couple of the most mind-blowing materials:
-Ulexite: a mineral with unique optical properties. If you put a piece of polished ulexite on top of a picture, the picture appears as if it is on top of the rock. It is referred to as the "TV Rock" because of this properties.
-Rapid Prototype Nylon Chainmail: this material can be computer designed an produced. With no joins it can easily produce a versatile material.
An here I leave the presentation that Zoe Laughlin made for TED in Brussels:
