<P> Similar to indium , gallium and gallium - containing alloys have the ability to wet to many non-metallic surfaces such as glass and quartz . Gently rubbing the alloy into the surface may help induce wetting . However , this observation of `` wetting by rubbing into glass surface '' has created a widely spread misconception that the gallium - based liquid metals wet glass surfaces , as if the liquid breaks free of the oxide skin and wets the surface . The reality is the opposite : the oxide makes the liquid wet the glass . In more details : as the liquid is rubbed into and spread onto the glass surface , the liquid oxidizes and coats the glass with a thin layer of oxide ( solid ) residues , on which the liquid metal wets . In other words , what is seen is a gallium - based liquid metal wetting its solid oxide , not glass . Apparently , the above misconception was caused by the super-fast oxidation of the liquid gallium in even a trace amount of oxygen , i.e. , nobody observed the true behavior of a liquid gallium on glass , until research at the UCLA debunked the above myth by testing Galinstan , a gallium - based alloy that is liquid at room temperature , in an oxygen - free environment . Note : These alloys form a thin dull looking oxide skin that is easily dispersed with mild agitation . The oxide - free surfaces are bright and lustrous . </P>
<P> Similar to indium , gallium and gallium - containing alloys have the ability to wet to many non-metallic surfaces such as glass and quartz . Gently rubbing the alloy into the surface may help induce wetting . However , this observation of `` wetting by rubbing into glass surface '' has created a widely spread misconception that the gallium - based liquid metals wet glass surfaces , as if the liquid breaks free of the oxide skin and wets the surface . The reality is the opposite : the oxide makes the liquid wet the glass . In more details : as the liquid is rubbed into and spread onto the glass surface , the liquid oxidizes and coats the glass with a thin layer of oxide ( solid ) residues , on which the liquid metal wets . In other words , what is seen is a gallium - based liquid metal wetting its solid oxide , not glass . Apparently , the above misconception was caused by the super-fast oxidation of the liquid gallium in even a trace amount of oxygen , i.e. , nobody observed the true behavior of a liquid gallium on glass , until research at the UCLA debunked the above myth by testing Galinstan , a gallium - based alloy that is liquid at room temperature , in an oxygen - free environment . Note : These alloys form a thin dull looking oxide skin that is easily dispersed with mild agitation . The oxide - free surfaces are bright and lustrous . </P>
an example of a metal which is liquid at room temperature is
an example of a metal which is liquid at room temperature is
Galinstan
Galinstan