Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Sensory Perception: Organization of the Somatosensory System

Sensory Perception: Organization of the Somatosensory System

The somatosensory system is the central and peripheral nervous system component that senses and processes touch, pressure, pain, temperature, and body position or proprioception. The process of sensation takes place at three levels:
The receptor level:
The receptor level is the first stage of sensation. It involves the detection of a stimulus by specialized sensory receptors. The stimulus must arrive within the receptor's receptive field. Next, the receptor converts the energy of the stimulus...

Design Example: Resistive Touchscreen

Design Example: Resistive Touchscreen

A device engineer plays a crucial role in designing user interfaces for mobile devices. One such interface is the resistive touchscreen, which fundamentally consists of two metallic layers: a flexible upper layer and a rigid lower layer, separated by a narrow gap. The high resistance between these two layers is a key characteristic of this design.
When a user touches the screen, the two layers make contact at a specific point known as the touchpoint. This contact reduces the resistance between...

Visual System

Visual System

Light enters the eye through the cornea, a transparent, dome-shaped surface covering the surface of the eyeball that helps to direct and focus incoming light. This light is then channeled toward the pupil, an adjustable opening whose size is controlled by the iris. The iris, a pigmented muscle, regulates the amount of light entering the eye by contracting or dilating the pupil, thereby ensuring optimal light levels for clear vision.
Once through the pupil, the light passes through the lens, a...

Tactile and Chemical Senses

Tactile and Chemical Senses

Tactile senses encompass touch, temperature, and pain, each mediated by specific receptors. Touch receptors detect mechanical energy or pressure against the skin. Sensory fibers from these receptors enter the spinal cord and relay information to the brain stem. Here, most fibers cross over to the opposite side of the brain. The touch information then moves to the thalamus, which projects a map of the body's surface onto the somatosensory areas of the parietal lobes in the cerebral cortex. This...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Liquid Metal Composites Enabled High-Safety Flexible Solid-State Aluminum Batteries.

Advanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)·2026

Same author

Thermochemical Micro-Explosion for Prompt Thrombolysis via Proximal Injection of Liquid Alkali Metal.

Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany)·2026

Same author

Photorealistic 3D Holographic Display with Natural Defocus Effect.

Nature communications·2026

Same author

Ostwald Ripening of Liquid-Metal-Grown Micropattern-Confined Crystals by Solid-Phase Diffusion.

Nano letters·2026

Same author

Recent Advances in Radiative Cooling: From Fundamentals to Commercial Applications.

ACS applied materials & interfaces·2026

Same author

Gallium in liquid state shows nuclease-mimicking activity.

Nature communications·2026

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 13, 2026

Microfabricated Platforms for Mechanically Dynamic Cell Culture

Microfabricated Platforms for Mechanically Dynamic Cell Culture

Published on: December 26, 2010

Multi-stimulus perception and visualization by an intelligent liquid metal-elastomer architecture.

Hongzhang Wang^1,2, Bo Yuan^2,3, Xiyu Zhu²

¹Institute of Materials Research, Center of Double Helix, Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen 518055, P. R. China.

Science Advances

|May 24, 2024

Summary

Researchers developed a novel soft material using liquid metal droplets in an elastomer. This material can visualize various stimuli and dynamic processes through heat release and color change, enabling smart sensing and display applications.

More Related Videos

Four-Dimensional Printing of Stimuli-Responsive Hydrogel-Based Soft Robots

Four-Dimensional Printing of Stimuli-Responsive Hydrogel-Based Soft Robots

Published on: January 13, 2023

Author Spotlight: Microfluidic Channel-Based Soft Electrodes and Their Application in Capacitive Pressure Sensing

Author Spotlight: Microfluidic Channel-Based Soft Electrodes and Their Application in Capacitive Pressure Sensing

Published on: March 17, 2023

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 13, 2026

Microfabricated Platforms for Mechanically Dynamic Cell Culture

Microfabricated Platforms for Mechanically Dynamic Cell Culture

Published on: December 26, 2010

Four-Dimensional Printing of Stimuli-Responsive Hydrogel-Based Soft Robots

Four-Dimensional Printing of Stimuli-Responsive Hydrogel-Based Soft Robots

Published on: January 13, 2023

Author Spotlight: Microfluidic Channel-Based Soft Electrodes and Their Application in Capacitive Pressure Sensing

Author Spotlight: Microfluidic Channel-Based Soft Electrodes and Their Application in Capacitive Pressure Sensing

Published on: March 17, 2023

Area of Science:

Soft Matter Physics
Materials Science
Intelligent Systems

Background:

Designing multi-stimulus responsive soft materials with integrated functionalities for intelligent systems is complex.
Existing materials often lack the ability to perceive and visualize diverse stimuli effectively.

Purpose of the Study:

To demonstrate an intelligent soft architecture for sensing and display.
To utilize magnetized liquid metal droplets as a core component for stimulus perception and information visualization.

Main Methods:

Dispersing magnetized liquid metal droplets within a highly stretchable elastomer network.
Utilizing the controllable solidification of supercooled liquid metal droplets to release thermal energy.
Employing thermal and thermochromic imaging to visualize stimuli and material responses.

Main Results:

The developed architecture successfully perceived various contact (mechanical pressing, stretching, torsion) and noncontact (magnetic field) stimuli.
Programmable visualization and display of information-encoded stimuli were achieved.
Dynamic phase transition and stress evolution processes were visualized through thermal imaging.

Conclusions:

The liquid metal-elastomer architecture provides a versatile platform for advanced soft intelligent systems.
This approach enables the creation of soft intelligent sensing, display, and information encryption systems.
The material demonstrates potential for future applications in responsive and interactive technologies.