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 ion source the gallium ion is sufficiently heavy for ion milling. The LMIS technique originated in the development of colloid thruster spacecraft propulsion systems. Research beginning in the early 1960s showed that liquid metal can generate large numbers of ions. By the early 1970s, these results spawned the development of LMIS ion microprobes. Initially, in the development of this technique, the liquid metal was supplied by a capillary tube. This method can be difficult to control at low emission currents. The technique of "blunt-needle" LMIS was discovered by accident in the early 1970s. For this method a thin-film of liquid metal is