Scientists engineer new material that can absorb and release enormous amounts of energy

https://phys.org/news/2022-02-scientists-material-absorb-enormous-amounts.html

"By embedding tiny magnets into the elastic material, we can control the phase transitions of this metamaterial. And because the phase shift is predictable and repeatable, we can engineer the metamaterial to do exactly what we want it to do: either absorbing the energy from a large impact, or releasing great quantities of energy for explosive movement... has applications in any scenario where either high-force impacts or lightning-quick responses are needed"

Related: Scientists can now map lightning in 3D

https://phys.org/news/2023-02-scientists-lightning-3d.html