I am thinking of robot improvements, so better motors are better. Higher magnetic fields mean more power. Running high currents through carbon tubes of tinier than usual wire diameter full of pumped gallium might create much higher power motors at a particular size that stay cool.-- beanangel, Mar 13 2017 The problem with copper tubes https://www.theregi.../nanotube_acronyms/ [Wrongfellow, Mar 14 2017] Prior art: stretchable liquid wires https://phys.org/ne...l-wires-length.html [notexactly, Mar 21 2017] Beany baby! Where ya bean?
As to the idea, is your point that the gallium-filled tubes are supposed to be more electrically conductive than regular copper wire? Or is it that the pumped gallium carries away heat better?-- MaxwellBuchanan, Mar 13 2017 He's suggesting that carbon tubes full of gallium will do both.-- Voice, Mar 13 2017 //He's suggesting that carbon tubes full of gallium will do both.// That can't be - I have but one bone to give.-- MaxwellBuchanan, Mar 13 2017 Little yellow pixies ...-- 8th of 7, Mar 14 2017 Also, why carbon tubes rather than copper?-- MaxwellBuchanan, Mar 14 2017 Will gallium flooded carbon nanotubes engineer better, faster free flowing electron paths? I don't-- wjt, Mar 14 2017 //Also, why carbon tubes rather than copper?//
To avoid certain undesirable properties that arise when you make nano ones (link).-- Wrongfellow, Mar 14 2017 Not in Monopoly it's not.-- MaxwellBuchanan, Mar 14 2017 So nobody likes a Baltic Avenue slumlord. Got it.
This is rather interesting, but obviously you need something magnetic and gallium unfortunately isn't.-- RayfordSteele, Mar 14 2017 [RayfordSteele], the Gallium is for the electric field (instead of Copper) so doesn't need to be magnetic. I would be worried about the Gallium and carbon tubes not playing nice. Can (liquid) Gallium be piped through tiny capilliaries?
(Some Googling...)
Seems that it doesn't "wet" graphite, so it might flow OK, although the thermal conductivity is a bit low (considering one of the reasons to use it is to provide heat transfer).-- neutrinos_shadow, Mar 14 2017 I think you'll do much better forming heat pipes from the carbon with an appropriate vaporizing liquid.-- Voice, Mar 14 2017 I thought of using mercury, but according to Wolfram|Alpha its specific heat capacity and thermal conductivity are much lower than gallium's. I can't tell if it's using solid or liquid gallium without comparing the number it gives to another source, which is too much work, though, so take that with a grain of salt. I also asked about Field's metal, but Wolfram|Alpha doesn't know what that is.-- notexactly, Mar 21 2017 random, halfbakery