“Apple has obtained exclusive license to use Liquidmetal Technologies’ metal alloy in consumer electronics,” TechzTalk reports. “The metal alloy is made using Zircon mineral and is called Vitreloy. Unlike other metal alloys this Zircon based alloy doesn’t form crystal structure and is ‘amorphous’ in nature, allowing it to be processed like thermoplastics using die cast at relatively lower temperature. Also, Liquidmetal alloy is more durable, harder, stronger and scratch resistant when compared to other metals like aluminum, titanium and steel.”
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TechzTalk writes, “As soon as information about the exclusive license deal was released speculations about where Apple will use the technology started flooding the blogosphere. The speculations ranged from MP3 player (iPod) to desktops. However, we believe that the first device to get the Liquidmetal treatment will be Apple’s Laptop lineup and specially the MacBook Air.”
Read more in the full article, including a link to a video showing the use of Liquidmetal in manufacturing of Omega watch bezels, here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Fred Mertz” for the heads up.
Tired of the Terminator jokes.
Meanwhile, Microsoft has invested heavily in VaporWhere,
the virtually invisible stealth-ware that is so hot when announced that it has to be put on the back burner to cool, at which point it disappears.
Is it radio transparent?
TowerTone provides.
@Ludor:
And we rejoice!
joe
Someone mentioned prohibitive amounts of platinum needed to produce this alloy. Potentially too expensive for big parts like the whole MacBook enclosure.
@TowerTone
Nailed it! lol
Thermometers?
IBike
Another link to the same article
http://techztalk.blogspot.com/2010/08/where-will-apple-use-liquidmetal-alloy.html
Isn’t it obvious?
The liquid metal is for a T-1000 to kill John Conner.
That video was bad ass, now I want an Omega watch!
“Someone mentioned prohibitive amounts of platinum needed to produce this alloy”
Actually non of the current alloys contain Platinum.
All contain Zircon, Titanium, Nickle, and copper some contain Beryllium while other alloys contain Aluminum or Niobium.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquidmetal
@Tranz4m
There’s a song for that!
Apple purchased a Cray supercomputer in the 1990s to help them with new case designs using plastic injection moulding while most PCs still use the cheaper folded metal cases.
If Apple can injection-mould metal they can return to the cool shape designs with the strength of a uni-body, but without the cost and material wastage.
There is indeed, Mr Razor:
There’s antimony, arsenic, aluminum, selenium
And hydrogen and oxygen and nitrogen and rhenium
And nickel, neodymium, neptunium, germanium
And iron, americium, ruthenium, uranium
Europium, zirconium, lutetium, vanadium
And lanthanum and osmium and astatine and radium
And gold, protactinium and indium and gallium
And iodine and thorium and thulium and thallium
There’s yttrium, ytterbium, actinium, rubidium
And boron, gadolinium, niobium, iridium
And strontium and silicon and silver and samarium
And bismuth, bromine, lithium, beryllium, and barium
(spoken) Isn’t that interesting? I knew you would.
I hope you’re all taking notes, because there’s going
to be a short quiz next period.
There’s holmium and helium and hafnium and erbium
And phosphorus and francium and fluorine and terbium
And manganese and mercury, molybdenum, magnesium
Dysprosium and scandium and cerium and cesium
And lead, praseodymium and platinum, plutonium
Palladium, promethium, potassium, polonium
And tantalum, technetium, titanium, tellurium
And cadmium and calcium and chromium and curium
There’s sulfur, californium and fermium, berkelium
And also mendelevium, einsteinium, nobelium
And argon, krypton, neon, radon, xenon, zinc and rhodium
And chlorine, carbon, cobalt, copper, tungsten, tin and sodium
These are the only ones of which
The news has come to Harvard
And there may be many others
But they haven’t been discovered
– Tom Lehrer
As sung by physicist and entertainer Tom Lehrer .. http://www.jesuitnola.org/upload/clark/images/elements.mp3
Enjoy
Memetic Polly-Alloy
I once watched the DVD, “Bush’s Brain”.
I’m pretty sure this was the material used.
Nice spin, enzos.
Now, let’s go poison some pigeons!
@Ampar
Yes, but first, let’s go see The Old Dope Peddler and watch a lovely young couple dance to The Wiener Schnitzel Waltz.
batteries, the products for which Apple wrote its first liquidmetal patent.