Liquid Metal Droplet Series Based Wire Oscillation

2021 
Gallium based room temperature liquid metal alloy has attracted continuous attention due to it combined properties of both liquid and metal, such as low viscosity, high surface tension, great thermal and electrical conductivity. Besides, it has low toxicity compared to mercury. These properties enable liquid metal to be used in various fields, especially in the soft electronics and soft robotics domain. Liquid metal could transform and move under electrical field in alkaline solution. Besides, by adding aluminum to liquid metal, it can actuate itself for minutes. What’s more, we have discovered that by inserting a thin copper wire into the self-actuated liquid metal, the copper wire could oscillate by itself. It is the first ever discovery of liquid metal and copper wire coupled oscillation phenomenon induced by chemical and mechanical principle. However, the oscillation period varies along time and the motion behavior of the copper wire is unstable, which limits its further application. Here, we propose several new ways to stabilize the oscillation process and extend the motion direction. By arranging the position of several separate liquid metal droplets, we manage to realize stable and continuous oscillation. Besides, bended copper wire could also oscillate in circular manner. Such findings enrich the liquid metal based soft robotics research and have potential applications in liquid metal-based sensors, actuators and counters.
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