Flexible tools will be made from hardened liquid metal: how is this possible (photo)

Scientists from the Harbin Institute of Technology and the Chinese Academy of Sciences have succeeded in creating a flexible electronic circuit using a special liquid gallium-indium alloy, as they report in their published scientific paper.

The development made it possible to create a gallium alloy with properties suitable for the development of flexible electronics, including solid-liquid phase transition, mechanical strength and good ductility. It is plasticity that is crucial when creating special tools that will be useful as medical sensors or that can be placed in the soft casings of humanoid robots.

To manufacture a microcircuit using the research alloy, its sample was first cooled to low temperatures, then the required electronic components were added to form the desired shape. At temperatures above 22.7 degrees Celsius, the material became flexible again, allowing a stretchable metal that conducts electricity so it can be used to create flexible electronic components.

In the future, the new technology based on the gallium-indium alloy can be used to fabricate similar liquid metal structures based on other alloys and materials.

Previously Focus He wrote that scientists have created a fairy robot: it flies with the help of the wind and is controlled by light. And researchers at China’s Wuyi University will equip robots with bionic fingers to detect hidden objects.