Liquid metal Liquid metal Liquid metal consists of alloys with very low melting points which form a eutectic that is liquid at room temperature. The standard metal used to be mercury, but gallium-based alloys, which are lower both in their vapor pressure at room temperature and toxicity, are being used as a replacement in various applications. A few elemental metals are liquid at or near room temperature. The most well known is mercury(Hg), which is molten above −38.8 °C (234.3 K, −37.9 °F). Others include caesium(Cs), which has a melting point of 28.5 °C (83.3 °F), rubidium (Rb)(39 °C [102 °F]), francium
Liquid metal embrittlement rate sensitive. Temperature also affects the kinetics of LME. An increase in strain rate increases the upper limit temperature as well as the crack propagation rate. In most metal couples LME does not occur below a threshold stress level. Testing typically involves tensile specimens but more sophisticated testing using fracture mechanics specimens is also performed. Many theories have been proposed for LME. The major ones are listed below; All of these models, with the exception of Robertson, utilize the concept of an adsorption-induced surface energy lowering of the solid metal as the central cause of LME. They have succeeded in