Scientists Have Created Shape Shifting Metal

This is way cool, ATS. It appears that Arnold may get a chance to fight Terminators in real life. Kidding! However, scientists at N. Carolina State University have figured out a way to manipulate liquid metal with low-voltage.

Working with a liquid metal alloy of gallium and indium, the researchers discovered that by applying a very low voltage, they could control and manipulate the surface tension of the material. Usually liquid metals tend to bead up into spheres as a result of their strong surface tension, but the applied voltage reduces that, causing the material to succumb to gravity and flatten into a pancake.

Some of the applications for this new tech range from Electronic circuits to cellphone antennaes but beyond that this tech could produce some really cool applications. I mean just imagine being able to build houses with this liquid metal where you program the house to change color at the press of a button, or clothes that can change shape/ form at the press of a button.....? Or roads which could build themselves. This tech could be a real game changer if developed correctly. What says ATS?

gizmodo.com...

F&S fer yer optimism......The news is encouraging...but....loooong ways to go....
Nitinol and Battelle come strongly to mind....I wonder if we would even have HAD THE IDEA without prompting.....
say what you will....

a reply to: lostbook

The first item that comes to mind is that most metals with this property are toxic and accumulative at least in my limited understanding.

I'm thinking this would definitely aid electronic advancement as well as health care research and development.

Neat story thanks for bringing it to my attention.


Cheers!

a reply to: lostbook

I don't care about houses. I just want them to create liquid metal terminators that can hunt down those 10,000 last remaining Vulcans eradicating those darn logic thinkers from existence!!!

a reply to: lostbook

Nice find, I think this has medical implications more than anything right now, reducing artery blockage, or delivering medicine to targeted areas of the body and making sure it stays there. This could also be shaped for simple surgery without cutting from the outside, you could end up injecting your scalpel. Very cool.

what are they calling it transformeum?
didnt they just posit this idea in transformers 4?. yea i just read the headline please forgive. I will go back through though and read the meat of this so we can chew the fat. Its just funny that they had this idae in terminator then transformers 4 and now "real life"

Probably they probably also have shape shifting synthetic skin. Goes from clear liquid into being skin.

a reply to: lostbook

Somebody needs to post that video!

This stuff looks amazing. I think it could radically change just about everything!

What's funny is that in 1984 or so the Air Force was flying an EF-111 Raven with a wing that changed shape depending on what portion of flight they were in. It went from the normal F-111 wing at takeoff, to a more curved and efficient wing while cruising, to an almost supercritical wing for high speed flight. It's rumored now that they have wings that change shape to act as control surfaces.

originally posted by: Zaphod58
What's funny is that in 1984 or so the Air Force was flying an EF-111 Raven with a wing that changed shape depending on what portion of flight they were in. It went from the normal F-111 wing at takeoff, to a more curved and efficient wing while cruising, to an almost supercritical wing for high speed flight. It's rumored now that they have wings that change shape to act as control surfaces.

Cool. Even more-so is the fact that if we're hearing about this now, then there's something way more advanced which is hidden. This shape-shifting metal is pretty cool though; sci-fi in real life.

originally posted by: lostbook
This is way cool, ATS. It appears that Arnold may get a chance to fight Terminators in real life. Kidding! However, scientists at N. Carolina State University have figured out a way to manipulate liquid metal with low-voltage.

Working with a liquid metal alloy of gallium and indium, the researchers discovered that by applying a very low voltage, they could control and manipulate the surface tension of the material. Usually liquid metals tend to bead up into spheres as a result of their strong surface tension, but the applied voltage reduces that, causing the material to succumb to gravity and flatten into a pancake.

Some of the applications for this new tech range from Electronic circuits to cellphone antennaes but beyond that this tech could produce some really cool applications. I mean just imagine being able to build houses with this liquid metal where you program the house to change color at the press of a button, or clothes that can change shape/ form at the press of a button.....? Or roads which could build themselves. This tech could be a real game changer if developed correctly. What says ATS?

gizmodo.com...

That's awesome and sheds light on the power of electricity. My brain is a conductor of electricity, therefore I can exert that power to influence elements. Fairly cut and dry simple as beans.

a reply to: Asynchrony

It doesn't quite have the same consistency as mercury doesn't it? It's like syrup.

a reply to: Zaphod58

Yep, I was just thinking about that. Memory metals have been in the works for a long time. I always get a chuckle when mainstream scientists "discover" something cool.

When I see new, cool scientific discoveries...chances are, it's already been "discovered" and had applications found for its use at least 15 years prior.

This kind of stuff might come in hand on orbiting satellites.

hang on is this not similar to the roswell crash site metal

Program it to form into the shape of bones and objects and this is perfect. I see the downside of course. "Now that Mr. Jones has been killed, let's program the knife to shapeshift into a cigarette case."

Somehow, if that does happen, I'm certain all changes to the metal will be recorded and logged so civilians don't make anything they cannot have.

If it ever becomes mainstream, a person could live with one set of this metal and it shapes into whatever they need. However, I can see companies still surviving. Each time you make a brand name item you could pay a very tiny fee instead of buying it separately. Then this means manufacturing is nearly obsolete I suppose? Meaning the population is almost obsolete.

Please let me to work for the Illuminati.

I think this is wonderful technology. If it's handled correctly and responsibly, this process can revolutionize our planet. S + F

a reply to: Yeahkeepwatchingme

Oh, no! The folks with their memory metals are already giving the 3D printers a run for their money! No contest. A 3D printer make one item and that is it, so old fashioned!. These metal marvels can make you a car (body anyway) in the morning and turn into a speed boat in the afternoon.

(Wait a minute. Are we getting a little ahead of what Apple may be releasing next or not?)

I overheard that too. An aeronautical engineer was talking about memory shape metals, and it had something like a piezoelectric ceramic laminate . Sounds like some cool stuff is coming down the pike. a reply to: Zaphod58

a reply to: truetrue

Oh there is some pretty insane stuff moving down the pipeline. Stuff that people said could never happen.

a reply to: Zaphod58

ARGH. Should I do the Paul Harvey thing on this, zap?

Let's play a game. It's called "Connect the Dots". It's what we do when this isn't on RATS and can be scanned by a rrrrrrobot.

Q: Mr Community, why is it interesting that you can reduce surface tension on liquid metal alloys of indium and gallium to nearly zero using a battery?

A: There's a really shiny use for such alloys. It gets niftier if you can reduce the surface tension. The lower, the more...effective.

Q: What good are indium and gallium? They're all ooky and poisonous.

A: Not if you don't get them on you. In the imitation words of Bruce Lee: the usefulness of a liquid metal is in its state.

Q: Pardon?

A: Liquid metals like solid metals. They like them more if their surface tension is low.

Q: When you say like...what do you mean by that?

A: A liquid metal can flow into the grain interstices of a solid metal. Better if that liquid metal has a low surface tension. Much better. VERY much better. Catastrophically better.

Q: Nu?

A: How 'bout them Hornets?

a reply to: Bedlam

I've always enjoyed a good game of Connect The Dots. Although it frequently leads to a sprained brain.