Scientists from Hong Kong Invented a Magnetic Slime Robot

The researcher who co-created it says the “magnetic turd” is not an April Fool’s joke. 

Some scientists in Hong Kong have created a moving magnetic slime robot. It was stated that the slime could encircle smaller objects and navigate through narrow passages in the human digestive system. Also, creators say that the slime is an excellent electrical conductor and can be used to interconnect electrodes.

The dark-colored blob controlled by a magnet has been compared on social media to Flubber, the eponymous substance in the 90’s sci-fi film. And other social media users compared it to Venom and Terminator 2. One user even commented on a TikTok post that the slime is T-1000 (liquid metal terminator) version 0.1. 

What is a Slime Robot?

A Chinese University of Hong Kong researcher, Professor Li Zhang, emphasized that the substance was actual scientific research. He clarified that it’s not an April fool’s joke despite its release date.

The slime contains magnetic particles so that it can travel, rotate, or form O and C shapes when external magnets are applied to it. Specifically, the blob was referred to in a study as a “magnetic slime robot.”

Speaking to The Guardian, Prof. Li Zhang said that the ultimate goal is to launch it like a robot. He said they still consider it fundamental research to investigate its material properties. Likewise, the professor explained how it has “visco-elastic properties. It means that the slime sometimes behaves like a solid, sometimes like a liquid. 

It is made of a mixture of a polymer called polyvinyl alcohol, borax (commonly used in cleaning products), and particles of neodymium magnet.

As of now, the team has no concrete plans to test it for medical application. The scientists foresee that the slime could be helpful in the digestive system. For example, it can reduce the harm from a small swallowed battery.

“To avoid toxic electrolytes from leaking out, we can maybe use this kind of slime robot to do an encapsulation, to form some kind of inert coating,” he said. 

The magnetic particles in the slime, however, are toxic themselves. The researchers coated the slime in a layer of silica – the main component in the sand – to form a hypothetically protective layer.

“The safety would also strongly depend on how long you would keep them inside your body,” Prof Zhang said. He added that using pigments or dye is also possible to make the slime – which is currently an opaque brown-black hue and more colorful.

Advanced Functional Materials 

A silicon coating covers the neodymium substances to make them safe for use inside the human body. One video shows that the slime enters a model of the digestive tract. It picks up a small battery and then exits the other side. Ironically, neodymium magnets are illegal in certain countries because they can pinch the digestive tract if swallowed. Emergency room visits tremendously increased in 2016 after the US lifted its ban. 

While we wait for slime robots to take over the world, other magnetic fluids already exist. Ferrofluids have many uses, though many are more extraordinary than functional, like making a Venom costume or a lava lamp. Or you can even make a version of a less toxic magnetic slime at home as a science experiment. But for safety, entrust the medical procedures and other scientific applications to the experts.

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