the fantasy of Terminator 2 seems to come true. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University, in the United States, created a robot that can go from a solid to a liquid state, and vice versa, according to the wishes of whoever drives it.
The MPTM (Magnetoactive Phase Transition Material) was created from gallium, a metal that melts at almost room temperature (29.8°), adding particles of an alloy of three other elements, neodymium, iron and boron, making it which increases the magnetic response it needs to heat up and go from a solid to a liquid state and then, when it cools down, it solidifies again.
“The figure is similar in size to a commercial LEGO figurine: approximately five millimeters wide and one centimeter high. A magnetic field is used to melt it into a liquid and remove it from the enclosure”, explained Carmel Majidi, a mechanical engineer from said North American institution.
How the liquid robot works
It is made with a matrix of a metal, gallium, which, pure, melts at 29.8 degrees. I mean, it would melt in your hands. To this matrix they added particles of an alloy of three other elements, neodymium, iron and boron. With this, they amplified the device’s response to magnetic fields.
A magnetic field at a certain intensity induces an electric current inside the gallium that generates heat, turning it from a solid to a liquid. Without reaching that threshold, these magnetic fields are also what allow him to jump 20 times his height, rotate on himself at 1,500 revolutions per minute or move at a speed of one meter per second, the newspaper explained. The country.
What would your profits be?
This material has high strength in its solid form, so the researchers suggest it could be used as a universal screw for use in confined spaces.
Also, the creators believe that its use will be more efficient in medical applications: In a demonstration, they used the material to solder an LED circuit by remote control and recover objects inside a replica of a human stomach. Playing with magnets, they managed to get a ball out of the stomach. In another sample, what they tested was the administration of a drug wrapped in MPTM. After taking it to the place where it was needed, it melted, releasing it.
While it’s fun to think that the T-1000, the villain from Terminator 2, is the inspiration for this invention, the truth is that sea cucumbers were, in fact, the true inspirations, according to Majidi.
These sea creatures, for example, can toughen up in the face of danger, a characteristic that has long captivated researchers in materials science and robotics. Such an attribute could allow a device to maneuver into tight spaces while soft and then harden to resist wear.