The first liquid metal network was successfully built, the future of 'Terminator' T-1000 is not far away?

If you've seen the classic movie " Terminator 2: Day of Judgment" , surely you will never forget the T-1000, an antagonist robot composed of polymorphic alloys, a form of liquid metal. allowing him to melt, burrow through door slits and recreate into anyone's form.

At the time the film was released in 1991, the technology of liquid metal to make the T-1000 was still a fiction. 

But in a new study in Additive Manufacturing, a trio of scientists from Binghamton University, New York University, just announced that they have created the " world's first liquid metal network ," which when you look at it, you imagine the T-1000 robot.

This hand prototype was made from Field alloys , a mixture of bismuth, indium and tin , named after its inventor, Simon Quellen Field. Field alloys have a relatively low melting point of only 62 degrees Celsius and are often used in the nuclear field as a coolant.

However, using that property for another application, Pu Zhang Associate Professor and Doctor of Mechanical Engineering along with his two PhD students Fanghang Deng graduated from the Northern University of Science and Technology. Kinh and Nguyen Quang Kha graduated from Polytechnic University, Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City, and successfully fabricated metal networks that could liquefy and then recovered to their original, sturdy form.

Talking about his research, Dr. Zhang likes to compare it with the liquid metal technology that created T-1000 in Terminator 2. But when someone said that maybe it was not the best comparison, Zhang laughed and confessed: " To be honest, I have never seen that movie!".

Liquid metal technology created T-1000 in Terminator 2

The job of a scientist like him is to turn utopian ideas into reality. Zhang has spent many years working in materials science, using computer computational models to design hybrid architectural and material networks.

And when he saw the potential of Field alloys, Zhang came up with the idea of ​​crossing it with a rubber coating to create hybrid materials with superior properties. 

No scientist has ever been able to create liquefied Field alloy crystal lattices and then restore them to their original form, an amazing property with countless applications that can turn fiction movie come true.

The problem with this alloy is that " without the shell, it wouldn't be able to recover its shape, because the liquid metal would melt away immediately ," Zhang said. Therefore, he spent half a year researching and manufacturing a rubber coating for Field alloys.

Without the shell, it would not be able to recover its shape

To ensure applicability, this case needs to integrate 3D printing technology, vacuum molding and appropriate coating (used on electronic circuits to protect against moisture, dust, chemicals and temperatures). ).

"The shell frame controls shape and overall integrity, so the liquid metal itself can flow around the channels [without flowing out]. We spent over half a year developing the production process." This is because the new mesh material is difficult to handle. You need to find the formula for the best material and the most appropriate processing parameters.

Cube networks are like hives

In a research report published in the May issue of Additive Manufacturing, Dr. Zhang and Fanghang Deng and Nguyen Quang Kha showed off the images of the world's first liquid metal network prototypes.

They used it to create balloons, a spider-like antenna, cube-shaped networks like beehives, and especially a hand that could slowly open and grip depending on the temperature. outside its environment.

When liquid metal is solid, it is very safe and strong.

This hand may make you think the day we create the T-1000 robot is not far away. However, Dr. Zhang said the applications he aims to in this study will be " much more gentle" than the terminator.

When liquid metal is solid, it is very safe and strong. It absorbs a lot of energy when it melts, then if it is heated and cooled, the melted metal can return to its original shape for reuse.

Dr. Zhang said this property will attract the attention of NASA or other private space transport companies. Satellite designers, for example, can create "spider web" antennas from this hybrid material, package it into a small package to save space for the rocket, and then inflate itself once in in orbit.

Liquid metal lattices can be used to make interplanetary spacecraft

The same may apply to future settlements on the Moon or Mars. You can melt metal houses, making them more compact when transporting on rocket. These houses can then replicate their shape at the destination.

Dr. Zhang said that liquid metal networks could even be used to build interplanetary spacecraft. 

" A spacecraft may have a problem if it is shocked to land on the Moon or Mars. Typically, engineers use aluminum or steel to create shock-absorbing cushion structures, but after you land. On the moon, the metal will absorb energy and deform. Shock absorbers will have to be thrown away, because they can only be used once , " he said.

"But with this Field alloy, you can use it to land like other metal shock absorbers. But instead of throwing them away after they are broken, you can heat them up to restore their original shape. In other words, you can reuse them many times . "

With this Field alloy, you can use it to land like other metal shock absorbers

Research on the new material is still underway by Dr. Zhang's team. He wanted to retrofit its innovative coatings and create various shapes for the liquid metal network.

"Our dream is to make a robot from liquid metal mesh ," said Dr. Zhang. "Now we have a hand, so we just need to take one step further."

• Scientists have successfully developed metamorphic liquid metal
• The US military developed liquid metal that could change its structure on its own
• Robots assemble themselves like "killer" movies.