Super-materials transform instantly from solid to liquid

For decades, children and many adults have cowered in fear as they watched the T-1000 transformation robot killer pursue Arnold Schwarzenegger's character, in the cult movie "Terminator 2" (The Terminator). kill 2). However, this frightening technology is about to become a reality after scientists create a complex form of transformation material that can allow robots to change from hard / solid to soft / liquid shapes. in the blink of an eye.

In the 1991 film, the US Secret Service robot T-1000 was made of liquid metal, allowing him to transform into a liquid state, squeezing through tight spaces as well as self-healing. when injured.

In the movie "Terminator 2", the super-transforming robot killer T-1000 is made of liquid metal, able to heal itself.(Photo: Tristar)

New materials manufactured by Anette Hosoi, a professor of mechanical engineering and applied mathematics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), are expected to produce real-life robots, possessing properties. Self-ability with low cost.

For example, Professor Hosoi's metamaterial can be used to invent transformative surgical robots , capable of moving around the human body to reach a certain point without hurting any internal body. organ or blood vessels in the process. Robots born from this material can also be used in search and rescue operations, performing tasks that slip deep into the rubble to find survivors.

Professor Hosoi explained, to make materials that can transform the shape between solid and soft / wet states, she and her colleagues covered a foam rubber mesh structure. They choose foam rubber because it can compress into a small part of normal size, but when released it bounces back to its original shape.

Meanwhile, the wax coating can change from a tough outer shell to a softer, more flexible surface by moderate heating. Professor Hosoi said, this could be done by running a wire along each waxed " rubber strut" , before passing an electric current to heat and melt the wax. Surrounded. Turning the current off will allow the material to cool and return to the solid state as before.

According to Ms Hosoi, in addition to transforming materials into a soft state, heating wax in this way will heal any damage.

Cheap super metamorphic materials of Professor Hosoi

Nadia Cheng, co-author of the study, further revealed that experts have developed super-transformable materials simply through embedded polyurethane foam rubber into melted wax pots. They pressed the foam rubber structure to encourage it to absorb wax. She stressed: "Many material improvements can be very expensive, but in this way, you can buy polyurethane foam rubber and a little wax with really cheap price from a craft shop".

The wax coating can be replaced with a stronger material, such as solder.

The team is partnering with robotic experts to begin a project to build wet robots, capable of squeezing through narrow spaces and then expanding again, like octopuses. However, robots of this type need to create a reasonable amount of force, enough to impact around to execute the task.