New 'Shape Shifting' Liquid Metal Could Make Terminator Robots A Reality [Watch Video]
The sci-fi characters from the famous Marvel comic book could be a reality soon. A team of researchers from the Tsinghua University in Beijing, China, are developing a liquid metal with shape-shifting properties, in addition to its property of auto-powering itself.
Reportedly, the liquid metal will be similar to the robot T-1000 from the movie Terminator 2, with a self-propelled motor.
According to Jing Liu, one of the scientists associated with development of the metal, the new innovation will display intelligence by deciding by itself the shape that needs to be formed and deformed, based on the available space.
"The soft machine looks rather intelligent and can deform itself according to the space it voyages in, just like the Terminator does from the science-fiction film," said Jing Liu, reported New Scientist.
The self-propelled motor is made from galinstan, an alloy of gallium, tin and indium. Gallium has a melting point of 85.57 degrees Fahrenheit. Since the composition of galinstan include 68.5 percent of gallium, 10 percent tin and 21.5 percent indium, the alloy has a melting point of -2 degrees Fahrenheit, which means that it is liquid at room temperature.
Drops of galinstan, when placed in a solution of sodium hydroxide near a piece of aluminium, can move around by itself for around 30 minutes.
During the study, it was found that when an external source of electricity is applied to the alloy, it changes itself into complex shapes that turns back to normal when the electric current is removed. According to the scientists, different techniques can be used to coordinate the drops of the liquid metal or to change their velocity.
The full study of the alloy can be read online in the journal Advanced Materials.
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