In "The Windup Girl," there is frequent talk about kink-spring devices. Googling kink-springs doesn't turn up anything. Is this a real technology or has it been made up or is this just the same as the torsion spring in a plastic wind up toy? e.g. http://www.damninteresting.com/why-not-a-wind-up-car
The part that throws me is the word "kink", it makes it sound like there is something being referenced in the real world.
EDIT: And I'm under no illusion that The Windup Girl is a non-fiction textbook about mechanical engineering. Many people seem to think I'm asking for the answer "'The Windup Girl' is a work of fiction"