gooide

Gooide is a fictional material described in speculative fiction and design discourse as a programmable gel with tunable mechanical properties. In real-world science, there is no material widely recognized by this name; the term is used to illustrate ideas about adaptable matter and responsive interfaces.

Typically depicted as a viscoelastic hydrogel or polymer network embedded with responsive particles, gooide can shift viscosity, stiffness, and shape under external stimuli such as electric, magnetic, thermal, or light fields. It often exhibits self-healing, allowing broken segments to fuse and regain strength, and can be molded or reconfigured with minimal energy.

In fictional treatments, gooide is described as a crosslinked matrix of synthetic polymers interspersed with nanoparticles or microcapsules that carry active agents, sensors, or information containers. The network may be designed to respond predictably to field cues, enabling programmable deformation and actuation.

Applications in speculative contexts include soft robotics, reconfigurable furniture, medical devices with tunable stiffness, and interactive installations. Gooide serves as a narrative device to explore material autonomy, embedded computation, and the boundaries between matter and interface.

See also: programmable matter, smart materials, hydrogels, shape memory polymers.