According to a recent report by the Physiologist Network, scientists at Carnegie Mellon University in the US developed a metal alloy that is liquid at room temperature and injected it into rubber to make transistors that are as soft and elastic as natural skin. This latest article in Advanced Science indicates that these soft materials may open up a new era of liquid computers.
Transistors, known as the 'brain' of digital products such as PDAs, smartphones, etc., handle signals and data, and as their size continues to shrink, they become smaller, stronger and more popularized, Transistors are all solid materials, always can not get rid of the stiff feeling of refusing to go thousands of miles away.
In a recent study, CMU software machine lab engineers Carmel McGiddy and James Weissman developed a new method to create fluid transistors with both digital capabilities and soft deformability by mixing two types of indium gallium The mixing ratio of the metals found a special alloy that is liquid at room temperature. It is not only electrically conductive like metals such as copper and silver but also has the same soft elasticity of natural skin.
They used liquid indium gallium alloys to make stretchable circuit lines and electronic switches, which act by switching the connection of two droplets. Experiments have shown that when a voltage is applied in one direction, two droplets Will be close to each other and connected to form a metal bridge, in order to achieve the conductive function; when a voltage is applied in the opposite direction, the droplets will be far away from each other, the conductivity of the closed.As long as the application of trace voltage, the transistor will have the same traditional transistor characteristic.
The researchers said that the two droplets are similar to the source and drain of the field effect transistor and that the voltage is used to regulate the shape of the droplet and that the transistor circuit can be switched on demand.The liquid metal circuit has immense potential for future applications such as development simulation Birds' flying robots can withstand deformation pressures at high altitude and extreme conditions while maintaining their electrical functions. Liquid computers have been developed to search and rescue robots, monitor diseases and restore brain functions.
