14 DAY TRIAL // Using liquids in electronics is definitely not something that people are known to do, given the tendency of things to go up in smoke or down in flames, or both, when such substances are spilled all over them, or even just sprinkled.
Things changes when the fluid in question is actually liquid metal and has what it takes to revolutionize circuitry as a whole.
The University of Illinois came up with a solution that can enable broken circuitry to automatically repair itself.
The basis of the method is the idea that micro-capsules filled with liquid metal could be distributed across a circuit board.
When the board suffers a fissure of any sort, said capsules break and release the liquid in the damaged area.
Usually, 99% of the previous conductivity is restored by this automatic, localized process that lasts only a few microseconds.
It is also worth noting that the liquid metal-based idea may not be the newest self-repairing circuit project, but it is the most impressive.
Previous methods were overly complicated and focused on structural repair.
In short, they were something that struck too far into Sci Fi territory and, as the distinct, current lack of self-mending electronics will attest, nothing actually became of them.
Also, if any of the previous ideas were actually possible to implement, they were either too expensive or simply too hard to make and, thus, not viable from a practical standpoint.
The researchers believe that the micro-capsules could do wonders for aircrafts and other applications that make liberal use of conductive wires.
This is not the first time liquid metal is portrayed as the way to the future.
IBM also made a case for liquid metal, though its own project was quite a bit different from this one.
Whereas here the only goal is to make it possible for electronics to heal, IBM wants to use liquid metal in processors.
