科学家们创造了世界上第一个液态金属晶格

科学家们创造了世界上第一个液态金属晶格

Researchers have developed the world's first liquid metal lattice, a design that could pave the way for devices that fully heal themselves when damaged.

研究人员已经开发出世界上第一个液态金属晶格，这一设计可能为设备受损后完全自我修复铺平道路。

The team from Bingham University has already built several structures with it, from soccer balls to honeycombs to even a not-at-all creepy hand.

宾汉姆大学的研究小组已经用它建造了好几个建筑，从足球到蜂巢，甚至还有不怎么令人毛骨悚然的手。

CHRISTIAN COTRONEO

Describing the process in the journal Additive Manufacturing, their take on liquid metal begins with Field's alloy — a kind of metal made from bismuth, indium, and tin that melts at the relatively low temperature of 62 degrees Celsius. That's low enough to melt in hot water. But when the alloy is cooled, it solidifies, becoming as tough as most other metals.

他们在《添加剂制造》杂志上描述了这一过程，他们对液态金属的研究始于菲尔德的合金——一种由铋、铟和锡制成的金属，能在相对较低的62摄氏度的温度下熔化。这个温度低到足以在热水中融化。但当合金冷却时，它会凝固，变得像大多数其他金属一样坚硬。

The technique involves 3D-printing a lattice or skeleton for a structure from Field's alloy. Then the lattice is filled with a layer of rubber. Think of it like skin over the bones that protect our own organs. As long as the temperature remains below 62 degrees, the structure stays rigid and intact.

这项技术涉及到用菲尔德的合金3d打印结构的晶格或骨架。然后在格子里填上一层橡胶。把它想象成保护我们自己器官的骨头上的皮肤。只要温度保持在62度以下，结构就会保持刚性和完整。

But when the temperature rises above that mark, the Field's alloy does its melting act. The thing is, the rubber layer still keeps everything together — only now, the structure can be bent, shaped and even pressed into a pancake. Let the alloy cool and it hardens again. But the rubber shell pulls the alloy back into its original form.

但是当温度超过这个界限时，磁场中的合金就会发生熔化作用。问题是，橡胶层仍然保持所有东西在一起——只是现在，结构可以弯曲，成形，甚至压成薄饼。让合金冷却，它又变硬了。但是橡胶壳将合金拉回原来的形状。

"Without the shell, it won't work, because the liquid metal will flow away," Zhang explains in a press release. "The shell skeleton controls the overall shape and integrity, so the liquid metal itself can be confined in the channels. We spent over half a year developing this manufacturing process, because this new lattice material is very hard to process. You need to find the best materials and processing parameters."

张在一份新闻稿中解释道:“没有外壳，它就无法工作，因为液态金属会流失。外壳骨架控制着整体的形状和完整性，因此液态金属本身可以被限制在管道中。”我们花了半年多的时间来开发这种制造工艺，因为这种新的格子材料很难加工。你需要找到最佳的材料和工艺参数。”

If you're getting a Terminator vibe here, lead researcher Pu Zhang doesn't blame you. Liquid metal literally came from the future in the 1991 classic sci-fi film.

如果你有终结者的感觉，首席研究员张璞并不责怪你。液态金属实际上来自于1991年的经典科幻电影《未来》。

"To be honest, I've never watched that movie!" Zhang notes in the press release.

“说实话，我从来没看过那部电影!”张在新闻稿中提到。

This wouldn't be the first time scientists have experimented with liquid metal. Last year, Chinese researchers took an even more direct page from Terminator by demonstrating how highly deformable alloys like gallium can be infused with magnetic particles like nickel and iron to create a liquid metal that can be sculpted with magnets. That research, they noted, could lead to shape-shifting, or soft, robots that, hopefully, won't make war on the human race.

这不是科学家第一次用液态金属做实验。去年，中国研究人员从《终结者》中获得了更直接的一页，展示了如何将高度可变形的合金(比如镓)与镍和铁等磁性粒子混合，从而制造出可以用磁铁雕刻的液态金属。他们指出，这项研究可能会催生变形机器人，或称软体机器人，希望它们不会对人类发动战争。

The potential for the new liquid metal lattice, on the other hand, is mostly out of this world. Spacefaring vessels and even satellites don't encounter any wind resistance or atmospheric friction of any kind. So the low melting point of Fields alloy isn't an issue. But they do get banged around a lot.

另一方面，这种新型液态金属晶格的潜力很大。航天飞船甚至卫星都不会遇到任何形式的风阻或大气摩擦。所以菲尔兹合金的低熔点不是问题。但它们确实经常被撞。

"A spacecraft may crash if it lands on the moon or Mars with some kind of impact," Zhang explains in the release. "Normally, engineers use aluminium or steel to produce the cushion structures, but after you land on the moon, the metal absorbs the energy and deforms. It's over — you can use it only once.

张在新闻稿中解释道:“如果一艘宇宙飞船在月球或火星着陆时受到某种撞击，它可能会坠毁。”通常情况下，工程师使用铝或钢来制造缓冲结构，但当你登上月球后，这种金属会吸收能量并变形。它结束了——你只能用一次。

"Using this Field's alloy, you can crash into it like other metals, but then heat it up later to recover its shape. You can use it over and over again."

“使用这种磁场的合金，你可以像其他金属一样撞击它，然后加热，恢复它的形状。”你可以一次又一次地使用它。”