• Question: What things are made out of titanium?

    Asked by anon-208897 to Titus, Stuart, Gill on 8 Mar 2019.
    • Photo: Stuart Higgins

      Stuart Higgins answered on 8 Mar 2019:

      Lots of stuff. Some replacement hips and knees are made of titanium because of it’s hard-wearing properties. One of the reasons we make spiky surfaces for cells is because other scientists have shown that making tiny patterns on the surface of titanium implants makes the cells in the body like the implant more.

    • Photo: Gill Harrison

      Gill Harrison answered on 8 Mar 2019:

      Stuart beat me to it. Medical prosthetics (artificial knees, hips, there’s even an expandable rib for children with severe abnormalities of the ribs, spine and chest, so they can breath and provide a way for lungs to develop)
      It’s used in pacemakers too, to keep the heart beating at a normal rate.
      It doesn’t get affected by body fluids and is extremely strong and light weight.

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