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Chemistry

Liquid metal that floats on water could make transformable robots

By Donna Lu

5 March 2020

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Liquid metals could make underwater devices, transforming robots or lightweight exoskeletons

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The shape-shifting robots from Terminator 2 may be in for a reboot on the high seas. A liquid metal alloy less dense than water has been made by injecting the material with glass beads – and it could be used to make lightweight exoskeletons or transformable robots.

Like mercury, which has the lowest melting point of pure metals at -38.8°C, liquid metal alloys don’t solidify at room temperature. They are also eutectic, meaning that they melt at a lower …

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