Do you remember the T-1000 robot from Terminator 2? Well, that was certainly a villain that was certainly memorable, capable of mimicking other forms as well as voices. Well, that science fiction world might not seem to be too far fetched now, with researchers Lei Sheng, Jie Zhang, and Jing Liu from Tsinghua University in Beijing having come up with a method of manipulating liquid metal, even allowing it to transform its shape on command.
The researchers who are on this case will rely on a gallium-indium-selenium alloy, which happens to remain in liquid form at room temperature, where it comes with a melting point of a mere 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 degrees Celsius), allowing the research team to be able to move the alloy about all in its liquid form, and this is done by placing it in water and applying the relevant amount of voltage.
These small liquid metal spheres on the surface of a water droplet can see its direction controlled based on the current’s intensity, where the metal droplet can be moved around and merged with other droplets, through the shifting of voltage source according to its various locations. Anyone out there who would like to see liquid metal see action in a military application or setting?
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