Liu Jing | Researcher, Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tsinghua University School of Medicine.

Dr. Liu Jing is a researcher of the Institute of Physics and Chemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and a professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering of Tsinghua University School of Medicine. He was successively selected into the "Hundred Talents Program" of the Academy of Sciences and Tsinghua University, and has long been engaged in research work in the fields of liquid metal, biomedical engineering and engineering thermophysics. He won the William Berg Prize in 2014 and was the first Chinese scientist to receive this prize; in 2015 he was selected as "CCTV's 2015 Technology Innovation Figure"; in 2017 he won the National Innovation Competition Award .

Speech video

Content overview

Professor Liu Jing mentioned in his speech how to design a brand-new technology and industry. Is there a material that can almost satisfy our imagination? History is moving forward, and China has some very important contributions. Liquid metal has presented unprecedented opportunities, which may be gifted to us by nature, not only China, but everywhere in human production and life in the future, it will also end many technical bottlenecks. Ten years ago, the first library of liquid metals was established. It is now very happy that the liquid metal library has changed from an ideal to a reality. Many companies around the world are promoting it, and a large number of scholars from all over the world are pouring in. Liquid metal, like water in a cup, used to be mercury. The presence of mercury may have prevented us from understanding liquid metal for a long time, because liquid metal is not just mercury, but many types. But now its great value is quickly recognized by the whole world. This year hundreds of scientific teams around the world, including many teams working on nanometers and new materials, have entered this field. This field is not like some kings of materials in the past. , Just may bring new opportunities, but has played a huge role in some aspects. The value of the materials is beyond doubt. Many limitations in production and life actually come from the limitation of materials. All we have to do is to find new materials, which are unprecedented new materials.

The picture above shows the liquid metal. It was used to cool computers in supercomputers made more than a decade ago. The density of computer chips is similar to the surface of the sun, or the same as that of rocket launches. If it is cooled with water, it is easy To achieve boiling explosion, the characteristic of liquid metal is that it can reach 2,000 degrees or liquid. I hope this technology can enter the mobile phone, so the mobile phone will run very fast and can carry very extreme heat. A type of material has many functions, and the functions of many materials are concentrated on one material. It can be either a conductor or a semiconductor. Even graphene can hardly reach this level. But liquid metals can be combined with many materials to do various researches. In fact, it can be expanded in countless fields. Another feature of this material is that it can be not only fluid but also paste-like. Such materials are applied directly and simply. Professor Liu Jing believes that it is necessary to guide relevant research in this field, including the whole world, because its application gives people a lot of incredible effects and imagination. In addition, liquid metal can also be applied to flexible machines, which is a major field leading to future robots. Then there is printed electronics. No matter whether they have professional level or no professional level, there is no way to pass it, because there is no corresponding knowledge system. Now it is gratifying that these systems have gradually been completed, and we expect more users, and these should promote The progress of society is not only China, but also the whole world.

The vitality of a field is actually its application. The introduction of liquid metal to the industrial field or consumer field was to solve the heat dissipation problem of computer chips. Even if the chip is manufactured and there is no corresponding supporting technology, there is no way to apply it. One of the problems is the thermal barrier, which is a worldwide problem.

What kind of functional devices and chips will be in the future? We are not pursuing integration yet, but they have already achieved it technically. By evaluating various materials, liquid metals can provide more possibilities, and the future development prospects are very huge. In fact, the future has come, and it may be applied on a large scale within a few years. There are many R & D teams now. Every technology comes out and is tracked all over the world, but the popularity of science may not be too fast. In the future, there will be many applications in smart homes, including wearable medical, liquid metal is fully flexible, washable and foldable, which is very useful in smart clothing. There are not enough large industrial groups trying now, but this is a brand-new industry, and it must adapt to the future development. It is not just China, it should be tried all over the world.

Liquid metal is a terminator material that connects nerves. It can conduct signals and cause huge repercussions. Only by making a fundamental breakthrough in physical science can it advance scientific progress. Science must be material science, not imagination. For example, joint teams around the world use stainless steel wires to connect nerves. Fortunately, liquid metal connection nerves are at the forefront, and full flexibility is very important in the future. Technology will really break some of our past understanding, brand-new materials provide more possibilities, this is a rare material.

Professor Liu Jing finally mentioned the flexible robot. All the machines in the past were made of steel. To change it, we must start with the material. I am glad that the liquid metal has begun to move forward. It has changed our understanding of the real world. It is completely liquid and lifeless, but it can move itself after swallowing other metals without consuming itself. It can be applied to all kinds of motors and jump around in it like life. These basic studies will lay the foundation for the establishment of liquid metal robots.

The SMILE project was launched in 2015. From the basic field to the breakthrough of application technology in this field, China should be in a leading position, and turned the upset into a major hot topic. This is a series of phenomena first discovered in the laboratory, which defines some new basic scientific phenomena and has the opportunity to discover some basic laws of the material world. This new material can infiltrate all natural sciences and humanities, and its significance in art is even greater. This field is indeed very interesting. A new industry has taken shape, but how to do it well requires the efforts of the whole society, especially China, which is in a very advantageous position. I hope this industry can carry forward in China.