
"A British-designed gadget aimed at young people that
turns any hard, smooth surface into a loudspeaker." "Rare material.
At the heart of the Soundbug is a small piece of a material called Terfenol-D, originally developed by the US military for sonar work. The makers hope the product will go down well with the youth market "It's 60% iron with a couple of rare earth elements in it and it's grown like a piece of silicon," explained Mr May. "When you put it in a magnetic field, it moves very slightly, perhaps a micron or so, but with an enormous force of maybe 400 pounds," he said.