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.

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.