A team of researchers at the Tsinghua University in China have developed the world's first self-shaping liquid metal that is capable of changing its shape and could be used to build robots, similar to the shape shifting robot in the Terminator movies.

In an effort to better understand the properties of liquid metals, the researchers found that when they put a drop of galinstan, an alloy of gallium, in a solution of sodium hydroxide and left it in connection with an aluminum flake, which the alloy utilizes as fuel, the liquid metal could move on its own for 30 minutes.

According to the scientists, galinstan is made of 68.5 percent gallium, 10 percent tin and 21.5 percent indium, with a melting point of just 19 degrees Celsius. Gallium has a melting point of 29.76 degrees Celsius, or 85.57 degrees Fahrenheit, which means that galinstan is in liquid form when at room temperature.

The findings build on the earlier work of the scientists and other researchers trying to make "soft" robots showing that an electric charge passed through some liquid metals could make them expand and change their shape to a drop. For instance, gallium can form complex shapes after electrical current is applied to it and then return to its normal shape when the electrical current is turned off. Using both the techniques, the drops can be made to move through liquids as well as change shape as per requirements, say the researchers.

The scientists believe that galinstan could have applications in various fields, like moving liquid through a cooling device without using any external source of power. A robot built with galinstan could also be used to monitor the environment, deliver materials through pipes, or move substances through blood vessels, according to the scientists. Other experts are of the view that the findings could be a step toward creating artificial life.