Liquid metal - wikipedia Liquid metal For other uses, see Liquid metal ( disambiguation ). Liquid metal consists of alloys with very low melting points which form a eutectic that is liquid at room temperature. The standard metal used to be mercury, but gallium - based alloys, which are lower both in their vapor pressure at room temperature and toxicity, are being used as a replacement in various applications. Contents 1 Thermal and electrical conductivity 2 Wetting to metallic and non-metallic surfaces 3 Applications 4 In popular culture 5 See also 6 References Thermal and electrical conductivity Alloy systems that are liquid at room temperature have thermal conductivity far superior to ordinary non-metallic liquids, allowing liquid metal to efficiently transfer energy from the heat source to the liquid. They also have a higher electrical conductivity that allows the liquid to be pumped by more efficient, electromagnetic pumps. This results in the use of these materials for specific heat conducting and / or dissipation applications. Another advantage of liquid alloy systems is their inherent high densities. Wetting to metallic and non-metallic surfaces Once oxides have been removed from the substrate surface, most liquid metals will wet to most metallic surfaces. Specifically though, room - temperature liquid metal can be very reactive with certain metals. Liquid metal can dissolve most metals ; however, at moderate temperatures, only some are slightly soluble, such as sodium, potassium, gold, magnesium, lead, nickel and interestingly mercury. Gallium is corrosive to all metals except tungsten and tantalum, which have a high resistance to corrosion, more so than niobium, titanium and molybdenum. Similar to indium, gallium and gallium - containing alloys have the ability to wet to many non-metallic surfaces such as glass and quartz. Gently rubbing the alloy into the surface may help induce wetting. However, this observation of `` wetting by rubbing into glass surface '' has created a widely spread misconception that the gallium - based liquid metals wet glass surfaces, as if the liquid breaks free of the oxide skin and wets the surface. The reality is the opposite : the oxide makes the liquid wet the glass. In more details : as the liquid is rubbed into and spread onto the glass surface, the liquid oxidizes and coats the glass with a thin layer of oxide ( solid ) residues, on which the liquid metal wets. In other words, what is seen is a gallium - based liquid metal wetting its solid oxide, not glass. Apparently, the above misconception was caused by the super-fast oxidation of the liquid gallium in even a trace amount of oxygen, i.e., nobody observed the true behavior of a liquid gallium on glass, until research at the UCLA debunked the above myth by testing Galinstan, a gallium - based alloy that is liquid at room temperature, in an oxygen - free environment. Note : These alloys form a thin dull looking oxide skin that is easily dispersed with mild agitation. The oxide - free surfaces are bright and lustrous. Applications Typical uses of liquid metals include thermostats, switches, barometers, heat transfer systems, and thermal cooling and heating designs. Uniquely, they can be used to conduct heat and / or electricity between non-metallic and metallic surfaces. In popular culture A fictional `` mimetic polyalloy '' is a form of liquid metal consisting entirely of microscopic nanobots, which are used for production of a Series 1000 Terminator in Terminator 2 : Judgment Day. See also Electromagnetic pump NaK, Mercury - other metals which are liquid at room temperature References Jump up ^ http://www.quadsimia.com/, Quadsimia Internet Solutions -. `` Indium Corporation Global Solder Supplier Electronics Assembly Materials ''. Indium Corporation. Retrieved 2017 - 11 - 26. Jump up ^ Thermal Interface Materials Jump up ^ Kunquan, Ma ; Jing, Liu ( October 2007 ). Liquid metal management of computer chips. Frontiers of Energy and Power Engineering in China ( Review Article ) format = requires url = ( help ). 1. Higher Education Press, co-published with Springer - Verlag GmbH. pp. 384 -- 402. doi : 10.1007 / s11708 - 007 - 0057 - 3. ISSN 1673 - 7504. Jump up ^ Miner, A. ; Ghoshal, U. ( 2004 - 07 - 19 ). `` Cooling of high - power - density microdevices using liquid metal coolants ''. Applied Physics Letters. 85 ( 3 ) : 506 -- 508. Bibcode : 2004ApPhL... 85... 506M. doi : 10.1063 / 1.1772862. ISSN 0003 - 6951. Jump up ^ Wade, K. ; Banister, A.J. ( 1975 ). The Chemistry of ALUMINUM, GALLIUM, INDIUM, and THALLIUM, Pergamon Texts in Inorganic Chemistry, ASIN B0007AXLOA. 12. External link in title = ( help ) Jump up ^ Lyon, Richard N., ed. ( 1952 ). Liquid Metals Handbook ( 2 ed. ). Washington, D.C. CS1 maint : Extra text : authors list ( link ) Jump up ^ Liu, T. ; S., Prosenjit ; Kim, C. - J. ( April 2012 ). Characterization of Nontoxic Liquid - Metal Alloy Galinstan for Applications in Microdevices. Journal of Microelectromechanical Systems ( Journal Article ) format = requires url = ( help ). 21. IEEE. pp. 443 -- 450. doi : 10.1109 / JMEMS. 2011.2174421. Jump up ^ Liquid Metal Thermal Interface Materials Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Liquid_metal&oldid=812220970 '' Categories : Fusible alloys Brazing and soldering Hidden categories : Pages using citations with format and no URL CS1 errors : external links CS1 maint : Extra text : authors list Talk Contents About Wikipedia Deutsch Հայերեն Română தமிழ் Edit links This page was last edited on 26 November 2017, at 18 : 31. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. 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Question: what element is a metal but liquid at room temperature
Answer: mercury