Metamaterial Converts Linear Compression Forces into a Rotational Movement

Using 3D printers, researchers have created a metamaterial from cubic building blocks that responds to compression forces by a rotation. Usually, this can only be achieved by transmission using a crankshaft, for example. If a force is exerted from above onto a material, the latter deforms in various ways. It may be bulged, compressed, or bent; however, according to the rules of mechanics, it will not rotate.