The “real-life T-1000” from Terminator 2 that can pass through metal rods invented by scientists

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Gallium melts with magnetic neodymium, iron, and boron particles at 30.6°C (87.08°F).

When the scientists sent an alternating magnetic field through the material, which was shaped like a Lego figurine, it increased its temperature – allowing it to melt.

Now a pond, the magnetic field was able to move the molten metal man from inside the cage to the outside – where he was collected into a mold, reshaped and left to cool after turning off the magnetic field.

With its temperature dropped below 30 degrees Celsius (86 Fahrenheit) in line with the ambient room temperature, the robot regained its original strength and shape within 80 seconds of turning off the magnetic field.

“The magnetic particles here have two roles,” said Karmel Majidi, senior author and mechanical engineer at Carnegie Mellon University.

“One is that they make the material respond to an alternating magnetic field, so you can, through induction, heat the material and cause a phase change.

“But magnetic particles also give robots mobility and the ability to move in response to a magnetic field.”

Scientists say previous attempts to make shape-shifting robots have needed heat guns, electric currents or other external heat sources to control the transition from a solid to a liquid.

But by enriching gallium with magnetic particles and ensuring that you’re working in a precisely temperature-controlled room, a magnetic field is all it takes.

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