A wind turbine blade for a wind turbine is provided, the wind turbine blade having a tip portion and a root portion, and the wind turbine blade including a shell and a spar, the spar including two spar caps connected to one another by at least one spar web of the spar and extending in a longitudinal direction of the wind turbine blade, whereby at least one of the two spar caps is configured as a main down conductor of a lightning protection system of the wind turbine blade, the at least one main down conductor including an electrically conductive fiber-reinforced plastic being electroconductively connected to at least one electrical interface of the lightning protection system. Also provided is a wind turbine including such a wind turbine blade.

An actuator includes a twisted and coiled polymer fishing line and an untwisted resistance heating wire (TCP.sub.FL.sup.RHW) actuator and a coating on the TCP.sub.FL.sup.HRW actuator. The coating includes a mixture of carbon nanotubes, metal nanoparticles, and mesoporous carbon nanoparticles, and in some variations, the coating includes a polymer matrix with the carbon nanotubes, metal nanoparticles, and mesoporous carbon nanoparticles disposed in the polymer matrix. And the actuator exhibits enhanced actuator parameters such as actuator efficiency, hydrophobicity, power consumption, actuation frequency, dynamic actuation and cooling rate.