Electronically Releasing Adhesives

The 600 pound I-beam is suspended above the ground, held securely in place by a single square inch of an epoxy adhesive. The two metal substrates that form the bond are connected to a small battery pack. With the lip of a switch, a low power current is passed through the adhesive, releasing the bond so that the beam crashes down with a loud bang. This is no ordinary epoxy. Developed by EIC Laboratories under an Air Force funded SBIR contract, this epoxy was designed for the temporary attachment of electronic test packages to the external surfaces of jet aircraft.