Chinese scientists create liquid metal that stretches like Terminator

Scientists at Beihang University in Beijing have created a liquid metal that can stretch in all directions and be transformed into different shapes in a manner reminiscent of the T-1000 robot in James Cameron's blockbuster "Terminator 2: Judgement Day".

According to a research paper published by the American Chemical Society Applied Materials & Interfaces, the liquid metal can be manipulated by magnets to move in three-dimensional space. Most liquid metals are limited to moving horizontally, and only when they are submerged in a carrier liquid. But the team of researchers led by Liang Hu broke through this limitation by adding iron particles to a droplet of a gallium, indium, and tin alloy immersed in hydrochloric acid. A gallium oxide layer formed on the surface of the droplet, lowering its surface tension and giving it more flexibility.

A screenshot taken from a video published on the American Chemical Society YouTube account of a magnetic liquid metal droplet being manipulated by magnets and moving in three-dimensional space. [Photo: China Plus]

The magnetic liquid metal droplet can move with half of its mass in the air outside of a liquid, a feature that the research paper says "resembles an amphibian walking upright."

The paper says the new material could someday find applications in soft robotics.