Apple snags Liquidmetal IP, may just revive the eMac with an amorphous metal chassis
By Darren Murph 
posted August 9th 2010 3:28PM
posted August 9th 2010 3:28PM
Ah, who are we kidding -- we're guessing a true, bona fide headless iMac would hit the market before the eMac ever makes a triumphant return, but it's surely a novel thought, no? In a recent 8-K filing with the SEC, Apple made public that it had essentially acquired "substantially all of [Liquidmetal's] intellectual property assets," not to mention a "perpetual, worldwide, fully-paid, exclusive license to commercialize such intellectual property in the field of consumer electronic products in exchange for a license fee." In other words, Apple just bought up the rights to integrate Liquidmetal's amorphous metal alloys into its product line, which would allow the company to create metallic wares without sweating the typical structural or strength limitations found in conventional metals. There's no mention of dollars exchanged here, nor any details on what exactly Apple plans to do with its newfound IP (shown after the break), but we're guessing the procurement team didn't sign the dotted line for kicks and giggles. 
does this remind you of terminator 2.
anyone???
Nokia had liquid metal on some of it's phones before. I think a Vertu. The way Apple doesn't like to share I don't see them letting others use it...ever!
Why would Apple share its toys once they paid for exclusivity?! your comment just doesn't make any sense in real world.
So what use would this be in apple products? Ideas? Unless they make the cases of phones and other equipment out of this but if it bounces , it seems like that wouldnt help anything
Any chances of lowering the price? Or will there still be an apple tax?
Gooood news everybody! Your eyephone 5 will bounce until all of the glass is thoroughly smashed!
Sounds like an engine at the end...
Sweet! I'm waiting for more amorphous metal products, but so far all I can find are golf clubs and tennis rackets.
It will turn your MacBook into a Jumper ...jump on it and take flight!
> So macbooks bounce now when you drop them?
Maybe yes.
Will they survive it ?
Probably not.
The case will be fine. But the component inside.... well that's an other story. You can't ignore physics.
In short:
This elastic collision = bouncing back with no damages thing only works when the object is made of only one material. The bigger the difference is, the more the damages will be.
More detailed version:
Imagine I build a car with this material and I put you inside, securely attached, every precaution taken. Then, I progressively accelerate the car to an insane speed and crash it against a solid wall also made of this material.
Now, let's assume that the collision is perfectly elastic. All the energy from the impact is used to bounce back. Therefore, there is no damage to the structure of the car. Everything is fine.
Or is it ?
Because you are not made of the same material as the car, you will be crushed inside it. And to make matter worse, you will feel twice the normal collision. Because the process is elastic and the speed is insane your speed will stop and go back in the reverse direction at the same speed in such a short time that you will almost feel twice the acceleration (which is not strictly true, but you body is so slow to respond to mechanical strain that it will almost be the same). The car will be undamaged, you will get twice the damages.
It will be the same for the components inside the computer (optical drive, motherboard, screen)
This is quite sad actually. I have been following this liquidmetal tech for some time, and as a mechanical engineer I can tell you it is quite fascinating. It has, er had, great potential to produce some very interesting and novel metal products. But the fact that the IP is now in control of Apple (or any company with such a narrow engineering focus) means that the potential is lost. It is too bad the inventors could not get this tech going.
I was hoping to see this technology in cars.
INCEPTION!!!
Aww man, I dropped my iPhone...
*Bounces back into my hand*
if i understand this correctly ,apple would be able to isolate mobo or other piece better.the fact that it rebound more means there IS less shock.but i sure would like to see my laptop bounce like a tennis ball lol
They are going to use this in their keyboards, so as to increase typing speed by removing the need to lift your fingers off a key after press.
Thank you Engadget! You just made me a ton of money!!!! I bought the stock yesterday (LQMT) ;) Long live Apple and Liquidmetal!!!!
Boycotting Apple is getting harder everyday.
@TheConstruct
What domain?
I always knew that it would take an evil company to give rise to the machines.
http://www.youtube.com/v/mZcsWVqLC5I&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xd0d0d0&hl
It's about fusing the ceramic back and front of the Iphone together with the antenna, now using the liquid metal alloy....