SYDNEY, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- Researchers in Australia have developed the world's first motor that spins using a droplet of liquid metal, a breakthrough that could transform soft robotics, flexible electronics and medical devices.
The tiny motor, called a liquid metal droplet rotary paddle motor, works in a completely new way that spins, not with rigid components, but with a droplet of liquid metal, said a statement of Australia's University of New South Wales (UNSW) on Monday.
Instead of traditional, rigid components like coils or magnets, the motor produces rotation by using swirling flows inside a droplet of liquid metal that is embedded in a salt solution and exposed to an electric field, it said, adding that a small copper paddle placed within the swirling metal is carried along by these internal flows, creating rotation.
"This is a completely new way to create motion," said UNSW Senior Lecturer Priyank Kumar, who supervised the project and corresponding author of a paper published in npj Flexible Electronics.
"We're harnessing the flow of liquid metal itself to produce rotation, without any traditional moving parts," Kumar said, adding that reaching speeds of up to 320 revolutions per minute, the motor is simple, compact and inherently flexible, making it suitable for applications where rigid components are impractical.
"It proves that simple, flowing metals can drive rotation and opens the door to an entirely new class of motors," he said, adding that new motor designs could reshape home, industrial and medical machines.
Motors power everyday devices unnoticed, from phone vibrations and laptop fans to camera focus. These rotary motors convert electricity or mechanical flow into torque, which keeps shafts turning and powers everything from washing machines to drones, the researchers said.
Beyond robotics, liquid metal motors could be used in flexible electronics, microfluidic devices and biomedical implants, where compact, self-contained motion is required in confined or delicate environments, they said. ■
