Wouldn’t you be thrilled if the Terminator T-1000 actually existed? Today, many headlines in the media were about a new technology created by scientists at Carnegie Mellon University in the United States. According to them, they have created a robot that, like the T-1000 in the film “Terminator 2: Judgment Day”, can turn into a liquid and then back into a solid.
The robot was kept in a cage, allowed to transform into a liquid, gently flow out through the cage’s bars, and finally return to its solid state outside the cage to demonstrate its amazing abilities. It’s quite interesting how this robot will be used in the future of biomedicine.
A mechanism for magnetically active solid-liquid phase change
The robot, formally known as the “Magnetic Active Solid-Liquid Phase Transition Mechanism”, can undergo phase changes and is made by encasing magnetic particles in metal gallium. Gallium has an exceptionally low melting point of just 29.8°C.
The process of changing from one physical form to another is known as the phase transition of matter. Solid, liquid, gas and plasma are typical physical forms. When a material has gained or lost enough energy, phase transitions often occur.
Researchers can control the movement of magnetic particles in this phase-change robot to generate heat. When the magnetic field is increased, the robot’s temperature rises, turning it into a liquid; when the field is decreased, it returns to its solid state. Scientists can also make robots move by adjusting magnetic fields.
According to Carmel Majidi, a physicist at Carnegie Mellon University, “The magnetic particles here have two roles. One is that they make the material responsive to an alternating magnetic field, so you can, through induction, heat up the material and cause the phase change. But the magnetic particles also give the robots mobility and the ability to move in response to the magnetic field.”
Exploring potential applications
Scientists are experimenting with the robot, although it is still at the proof-of-principle stage. They have been able to use the phase-change robot to effectively distribute medication and remove foreign objects from a mannequin’s stomach.
Scientists have even used phase-change robots to repair circuits. They either allow it to flow gradually into problem areas that are difficult to weld with other tools, or they allow it to flow as a liquid into a screw hole before becoming solid and acting as a screw.
Majidi explained: “Future work should further explore how these robots could be used within a biomedical context. What we’re showing are just one-off demonstrations, proofs of concept, but much more study will be required to delve into how this could actually be used for drug delivery or for removing foreign objects.”
