An SEC filing just hit that shows that Apple Inc. struck a deal with Liquidmetal Technologies (http://www.liquidmetal.com/technology/default.asp), a California-based company that holds patents on new metal and alloy designs, for essentially access to all of its intellectual property, reports “The Baltimore Sun” (http://macosg.me/2/o9).
Perhaps in the near future, we can expect our iPhones, iPads, and iPods to be made of these new “amorphous” metals that Liquidmetal specializes in, the article surmises. But why not in Macs, as well.The metals purportedly offer twice the strength of stainless steel, an elastic limit more than double that of most metallic alloys, yet it can be processed in ways similar to thermoplastic polymers
According to the LiqudMetal Tech web site, its alloys are a” revolutionary class of materials that redefines performance and cost paradigms.” The superior properties of Liquidmetal alloys are made possible by revolutionary scientific and technological innovations, the company says.
The allows have an “amorphous” atomic structure, which is unprecedented for structural metals. Also, they include a multi-component chemical composition, which can be optimized for various properties and processes. Finally, they lend themselves to process technology similar to that possessed by plastics.