In 2015, a 2,600-year-old shipwreck discovered off the coast of Gela in southern Sicily was found to contain 39 ingots of a mysterious alloy that archaeologists believe is the ancient metal known as orichalcum, a metal that Plato described as decorating the walls of the temple of Poseidon in Atlantis. Upon re-examining the wreck, archaeologists have uncovered new artifacts, including a jar, two Corinthian helmets, and 47 additional ingots of the mysterious metal.
read more

Researchers at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia has developed a new method that can allow liquid metal to self-arrange its own shape, using external chemical inputs. The substance is made up of a highly-conductive liquid-metal core, surrounded by a film of semiconducting oxide skin, allowing the arrangement to be completely malleable, resembling the mimetic polyalloy used by the T-1000 from the Terminator movies.

The technique used to cause the metal to rearrange its shape involves changing the chemical makeup of the water that the metal is kept in, altering the pH levels and salt content of the solution. This prompts the skin surrounding the metal to change its shape, to the point where this change can cause the metal blob can propel itself.
read more