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I beg to differ. This material has ALREADY been used as an antenna (http://www.liquidmetal.com/index/) in the Novatel USB 727, a device that got great reviews for its reception.

I never stated the material could not be used as an antenna. I stated that it would not fix the iphone 4 antenna issue (as this relates to impedance transforming and blocking EM signals, not the conductivity of the material. However, the point stands that this would be less conductive than a traditional metal alloy). It may well be a good choice should the material's durability prove to be superior to the current alloy in use, but it won't make the current problem go away. I emphasize that point because I'm anticipating a lot of people will ask it.
 
So, Apple finally admits that using aluminum was a stupid idea. Other companies were using alloys for laptop cases for decades, now Apple decided to join them. Better late than never, I guess.

you seem to have got in first on the miserable ******* stakes tho. I'm sure all the apple design teams, whose job it is to specifically research materials and look at all the options, never ONCE thought of alloys.

It's a pity a genius like you doesn't work there, to show all those idiots how to think....
 
One thing this alloy will not be good for is electrical conduction. It is the strict crystalline structure of metal that gives it is good conductivity...

I disagree, a well ordered structure is a contributing factor to low resistance, but there's more to it than that. As a counter example, liquid mercury is a good conductor.


However, I do not know how permeable this will be to EM signals. Presumably, if it is better than aluminum, it would be preferable in making device cases out of this as they would get better reception. This would not solve the iphone antenna issue, as this solution would decrease the conductivity of the band and be counterproductive. However, they could potentially make an iphone out of this (a la the iphone 1's aluminum back) with less performance impact.

It's permeability to rado waves is probably similar to aluminum when it's thick enough to have the rigidity necessary for a case. A conductive case doesn't necessarily mean better or worse antenna performance, but does need to be considered as part of the antenna design.
 
The "Glass and Aluminum" approach Apple has been taking was all about Green Technology, and Sustainability.

It's very easy to separate and recycle these basic materials.

How easy is it to recycle this Liquidmetal alloy?
 
That's really cool. I've been following Liquid Metal since it was announced over a decade ago. I always thought it was strange that so few companies seemed interested in this innovative product. The material is so unique and accurate they claim you could create a razor blade via injection molding. Pretty impressive.

Interesting ball bounce demonstration:
http://www.liquidmetal.com/media/ball_bounce_DSL.mov

Hope they don't make an iPod Shuffle out of this stuff. Drop it and you'd never see it again!
:p
 
I have a Sandisk Cruzer Titanium flash drive. It's 5 or 6 years old now and I still use it daily. Sandisk contracted Liquidmetal to make the casing.

A few years ago it was left on a bumper and found a few days later in the road, almost certainly after being run over.

More recently (last week) I lost it and couldn't find it anywhere. It wasn't until I was mowing the front yard that I found it, with the mower.

There's a tiny scratch where I think the mower found it but other than that it looks great.
 
That's really cool. I've been following Liquid Metal since it was announced over a decade ago. I always thought it was strange that so few companies seemed interested in this innovative product. The material is so unique and accurate they claim you could create a razor blade via injection molding. Pretty impressive.

Interesting ball bounce demonstration:
http://www.liquidmetal.com/media/ball_bounce_DSL.mov

So if I drop my T-Phone then I am going to have a devil of a time catching the thing as it bounces around :D
 
I disagree, a well ordered structure is a contributing factor to low resistance, but there's more to it than that. As a counter example, liquid mercury is a good conductor.

To which my counterpoint is the lack of mercury in use for its conductivity. Normally, when you use metal with the intention of it being a conductor, its going to a pure metal or an alloy like gold, silver, aluminum etc.

It's permeability to rado waves is probably similar to aluminum when it's thick enough to have the rigidity necessary for a case. A conductive case doesn't necessarily mean better or worse antenna performance, but does need to be considered as part of the antenna design.

It can if the entire case is conductive. Antenna placement is also crucial. What I would be interested in is the relative strength measurements of this material vs. aluminum. It could be more rigid per unit thickness, meaning it would be preferable over aluminum where form factor is crucial such as in iDevices.
 
Aluminum is a lightweight metal and yet strong. It is also highly recyclable.

Then why does my MacBook Pro have a dent in it from simply resting on my lap (which had keys in my front right pocket)? That would NEVER have happened on my Titanium PowerBook G4.
 
It was depicted in Star Trek IV as being GE Lexan, if I recall. The old iBooks just so happen to be made out of Lexan :D

Scotty gave them the formula for Transparent Aluminum in exchange for the large pieces of Lexan-like material that they needed for the whales but had no way to pay for. They did not have time to wait for the company to actually manufacture panels made of TA.

Now turn in your geek card. :p
 
Where I work we make things from Titanium.

Very Strong and Light and actually quite easy to machine with the right tools.
 
No wonder why Apple products are getting so expensive. None of those cheap China plastic. Up next, glass will be replaced with diamonds and electrical components will be made of platinum.

Typical fanboy speaking.:) You do know that macbook is made of 'cheap China plastic' right ? and 100% of all products that Apple designs are made in China ?
and that's not the reason why Apple products are so expensive; is because Apple slaps a 200% or more profit margin on each product, and make it look like it's made out of 'magic' and they're somehow better than all other manufacturers.

I still to this date can't understand what's so 'premium' about Apple products. They use the same if not worse components and materials, but yet they cost much more.
 
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