Liquid metal cables spell the end for broken headphones
Science saves the day once again, serving up stretchy cables to get you out of a tangle
If you’ve suffered the woes of broken headphone cables, here’s some good news: Researchers from North Carolina State University have managed to produce a type of wire that can stretch up to eight times its length without breaking.
The super-stretchy cable is made from a liquid metal alloy crafted from gallium and indium (no, us neither) which is then packed into a very thin elastic polymer tube.
The end result is a very resilient conductive wire that can be used in anything from phone chargers to headphones. The current design does have a flaw, however, in that the liquid metal can leak if the plastic is pierced or cut. Fortunately there are as yet no reports of it taking human form and trying to assassinate the future leader of the human resistance.
Teething troubles aside, we can’t wait to try liquid metal headphone cables out for ourselves. These piles of broken headphones are getting expensive…
[North Carolina State University via The Verge]
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Dan Grabham
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