Liquid metal that floats on water could make transformable robots

By Donna Lu

MandriaPix/Alamy

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 temperature than the individual melting points of the …