An electrorheological clutch (ER clutch) comprises drive and driven members, generally parallel to each other, that can be selectively engaged by the application of a voltage to an electrorheological (ER) fluid. The ER fluid is used as the coupling between the input and the output (drive and driven members). The clutch acts as a power amplifier and the effect is fast (of the order of milliseconds) and reversible.
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“O world invisible, we view thee, O world intangible, we touch thee, O world unknowable, we know thee, Inapprehensible, we clutch thee!”
—Francis Thompson (1859–1907)