What is Gallium?

Gallium is a gray-blue or silver-white metal with the symbol Ga and an atomic weight of 69.723. Gallium has a low melting point and a high boiling point. Pure liquid gallium has a significant tendency to be undercooled, and is easily oxidized in the air to form an oxide film.

Gallium was discovered in Paris by Bois Bourdrand in 1875. He extracted in sphalerite ore (ZnS)

Can be extracted from bauxite or sphalerite. ^[5]

Since the density of liquid gallium is higher than the density of solids,

On September 23, 2014, a research team in North Carolina, the United States, recently developed a deformable liquid metal that can be repaired by itself.

Scientists use gallium and indium alloys to synthesize liquid metals to form a solid solution alloy that can become liquid at room temperature with a surface tension of 500 millinewtons per meter. This means that, under the influence of no external force, when the alloy is placed on a flat table, it will maintain an almost perfect sphere. When stimulated by a small amount of current, the surface tension of the sphere will decrease and the metal will stretch on the table. This process is reversible: if the charge changes from positive to negative, the liquid metal will become spherical again. Changing the magnitude of the voltage can also adjust the surface tension of the metal and the viscosity of the metal block, making it a different structure.

North Carolina State University associate professor Michael Dickey said, "It takes less than a volt to change the surface tension of a metal. This change is quite remarkable. We can use this technology to control the activity of liquid metal. To change the shape of the antenna, connect or disconnect the circuit, etc. "

In addition, the study could be used to help repair severed nerves in humans to avoid long-term disability. Researchers claim that the breakthrough could help build better circuits, self-healing structures, and even one day be used to make the T-1000 robot in Terminator. ^[16]