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twice as strong as titanium!! moudled like plastic!!

cb911

cb911

macrumors 601
Original poster
Mar 12, 2002
4,134
4
BrisVegas, Australia
everyone has to checkk out this CNN article about liquidmetal : http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/science/07/10/super.metal.ap/index.html

i couldn't beleive it when i read this. it's more than twice as strong as titanium, it doesn't rust and can be cast like plastic!!:D holy flying cows!! what wonder metal is this??!! well, they've called it Liquidmetal. but it does have a weakness - heat. it softens when heated, but only at about 750 degrees Fahrenheit. i can't fully relate to that figure because i'm used to degrees celcius. but that has to be way below the temperatures reached in a TiBook? right? can anyone who knows fahrenheit do the calculations?

and it can also be cast with precision down to 1 micron. thats damn small!!:) and at the moment, the raw materials cost about the same as titanium. will Apple switch to liquidmetal? hmm... 'PowerBook Liquidmetal' or 'Liquidmetal PowerBook'. yeah, i like the sound of that!!:D everything about it is only good news for the computer world, and the heat issue is being improved upon. for all those people who complain about the TiBooks rigidy and durability issues, this is your answer. think about what would happen if Apple used this. twice as strong as titanium!!:D and think about the enclosures they could have! Liquidmetal can be cast like plastic!!:D

so, what does everyone think the chances of Apple using Liquidmetal are?? maybe not the 1GHz TiBooks, but could the 1.2GHz TiBooks have an all new Liquidmetal enclosure? this is so cool!!:D :D
 
750 degrees Far. is about 400 degrees Celcius. (For the even further metrically inclined, that is about 673 Kelvin.)

2100ºF ≈ 1150ºC ≈ 1423K

The Titanium enclosure is about 1 inch, and LM goes to about that as well, according to the article. (That's about 2.5cm.)

I would like to see it in chips and other materials for the Mac line of products...but not for the PowerMacs, especially in the near future, since the price is up to $15 per pound.
 
so even with Liquidmetal the way it is at the moment the heat would be no problem. there is no way the TiBook would come anywhere near that temp. perhaps Apple is already working on new TiBook cases? what do you think the chances of this are? could the 1GHz TiBooks have Liquidmetal cases? even if the case design isn't changed, if Apple switched to Liquidmetal it would mean increases durability and rigidy.
 
Anyone remember the LiquidMetal golf club?

Luckily these people are getting out of product production and shopping the actual technology around.

With this metal there is no finishing needed and the final finish can be built into the mold (ie, just like plastics). So the actual production cost are smaller since the production steps to final product are reduced.

But I have to wonder how well it works with heat transfer, a computer needs a good conductor to get rid of the heat.
 
i just went to the LiquidMetal web site to see if i could find out more about it. http://www.liquidmetal.com/index/

it says that it offers low thermal conductivity, and it says this as a good thing. this is good because it offers protection from heat etc...
but this is not good for the TiBooks. maybe they could make a special LiquidMetal that does conduct heat.

or maybe the LiquidMetal could just be used for iPods and other stuff that needs to be light and durable.
 
Heat...

Originally posted by cb911
i just went to the LiquidMetal web site to see if i could find out more about it. http://www.liquidmetal.com/index/

it says that it offers low thermal conductivity, and it says this as a good thing. this is good because it offers protection from heat etc...
but this is not good for the TiBooks. maybe they could make a special LiquidMetal that does conduct heat.

or maybe the LiquidMetal could just be used for iPods and other stuff that needs to be light and durable.
Click to expand...

You can't exactly change heat conductivity without changing some other properties in the process.

Why do we need a new metal for the PowerBooks anyway?:cool:
 
750F

If a PowerBook got up to 750F you would have more to worrie about then your case getting soft. Your typing fingers would have burst into flames by that time.

-evildead
 
yeah, it's not the heat resistance problem that is the worry, but the heat conductivity.

and yes, the TiBook does need a new case enclosure. especially if there is another metal better than titanium - the TiBook needs the best!!:D
 
Re: twice as strong as titanium!! moudled like plastic!!

Originally posted by cb911
but it does have a weakness - heat. it softens when heated, but only at about 750 degrees Fahrenheit. i can't fully relate to that figure because i'm used to degrees celcius. but that has to be way below the temperatures reached in a TiBook? right?
Click to expand...
Hmm... well, the TiBook sure seems like it hits 750F once in a while. :)
 
The way titanium is used on the PowerBook, it serves virtually no purpose other than being an effective marketing buzzword. It's not exceptionally rigid and it's easy to dent, in part because it's so thin. It would be stronger and better if it were an alloy. This liquidmetal stuff looks cool, but it's not the only other option. Apple could take some hints from, say, metal-bodied digital cameras, which seem much stronger than the TiBook's skin.

Another thing Apple needs to do is stop painting the TiBooks. Why not let the luster of the metal shine through? The first time I used the TiBook, I thought, "I'd better be careful with this, because I know it's going to scratch." And indeed it did... I'd rather see an anodized magnesium or stainless steel PowerBook than a titanium one. The MgBook... yes. :)

Alex
 
yeah, i'm still really conscious about not scratching my TiBook. and i've already got one small dent in it, it's not really noticeable though...

but no other benifit than marketing? i thought that titanium was a good heat conductor, and doesn't the TiBook use it's casing as a giant heat sink?

anyway, i'm still hoping for some type of 1GHz special edition TiBook...;) :D
 
Originally posted by alex_ant

Another thing Apple needs to do is stop painting the TiBooks. Why not let the luster of the metal shine through? The first time I used the TiBook, I thought, "I'd better be careful with this, because I know it's going to scratch." And indeed it did... I'd rather see an anodized magnesium or stainless steel PowerBook than a titanium one. The MgBook... yes. :)

Alex
Click to expand...

I like unfinished Titanium......... although it show's up every greasy paw print...... it still looks cool.......

I haven't scratched my TiBook yet....... I'm ultra loving of it..... almost to the extreme....... so it's still baby fresh...... :) although I know it doesn't take much to scratch the thing.........

I'd still like to see Apple do a super shiney chrome version...... there're companies that can chrome titanium so I'd be up for that one........ ;) :D

May Apple should look at composites for the Powerbooks case........... expensive..... yes... but damn fine looking as well........
 
although titanium is very good stuff, the TiBook should have something special for it's case, we're already paying heaps for it. yay! special edition TiBook!!!:D
 
Originally posted by cb911
but no other benifit than marketing? i thought that titanium was a good heat conductor, and doesn't the TiBook use it's casing as a giant heat sink?
Click to expand...
Sure, but titanium's not the only good heat conductor... a Ti or Mg alloy would still be fine, I would guess. Although I'm not a metallurgist.
 
I wonder, has anyone ever sanded all the paint off of a TiBook's titanium parts? Maybe given it a matte clear coat to ward off the paw prints. That would be an interesting little project... although you'd have to be careful not to sand too much, or there would be nothing left. :)
 
Originally posted by cb911
yeah, they probably could make an alloy or something, so why don't they use Liquidmetal? that would be awesome!!:D
Click to expand...
What I want to see is REAL liquid metal, like in Terminator 2. Done using the TiBook, just press a button and it "melts" and flows off the desk, into your pocket. :) Oh well... maybe sometime before the 24th century.
 
on the subject of sanding the paint off a TiBook case...

well, no i haven't done it. but one of the things holding me back is that i was afraid i couldn't get a replacement case if i stufed up. but i found a site where you can buy TiBook covers, the top and bottom covers seperately. they're still very pricey though, but i might try it some day when i have a bit of money to spare...
 
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