(Originally published by Jan Genzer, Michael D. Dickey, and co-workers in Small. DOI:10.1002/smll.201502692)
This video, presented by researchers at North Carolina State University, shows that it is possible to ‘mechanically sinter’ liquid metal nanoparticles to form soft, electrically conductive traces by hand. Initially, a film of nanoparticles embedded in elastomer is insulating, but pressing on it causes the particles to fuse together to form conductive pathways. These pathways may be useful for writing antennas on demand or for creating soft circuit boards into which components can easily be added.
