Guest_Jim_* Posted May 20, 2015 Posted May 20, 2015 Many of the devices we use every day rely on antennas, even though manufacturers have gotten quite good at hiding them. This achievement is actually not a little one as longer antennas can have desirable properties. As reported in the American Institute of Physics' Journal of Applied Physics, researchers at North Carolina State University have developed a tunable liquid antenna that may give us the best of both worlds. The antenna in question is made of a liquid metal, which normally would require a pump to manipulate. Pumps are not exactly easy to integrate into devices like phones though, but the researchers have found an electrochemical solution that does the trick. When a voltage is applied to the liquid metal, the oxide layer on its surface is affected, which in turn impacts its surface tension. When a positive voltage is applied, the surface tensions weakens, allowing the liquid metal to flow into a capillary, lengthening the antenna, while a negative voltage does just the opposite. This allows the antenna's properties to be altered on the fly, such as increasing the range of frequencies it can operate over. The next step for the researchers is to see what else they can do with this discovery. Potentially other tunable, liquid components could be made, such as filters, but they also want to see if more complicated shapes can be made, than one dimensional antennas. Source: EurekAlert! Back to original news post Share this post Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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