Could Gallium make possible liquid metal life?

Not long time ago, I wrote several article about the possibility of new life forms predicted by TGD involving in an essential way plasma phases (see this). I also wrote a couple of articles about the possibility that TGD based quantum physics could allow ordinary computers be or become conscious (see this) and this).

1. The basic prediction was that systems behaving like cold plasmas are good candidates for living systems very much like ordinary living systems, which can be also regarded as cold plasmas with O^- ions created by kicking the ordinary proton of OH to a dark proton at the magnetic body of the system. OH and O^- + dark proton would define the states of a topological qubit. Dark protons at the field body could control the system. The basic mechanisms would be the Pollack effect and its reversal. In the Pollack effect a photon of visible light kicks the proton of OH to the field. This mechanism has several generalizations: for instance the needed energy for kicking would come from the formation of bound states and could have played a key role in the formation of biomolecules. Also other negatively charged ions produced in this way could be highly relevant .
2. OH-O^-+dark proton and its generalizations would define the counterpart of qubit making the system a hybrid of an ordinary computer paired with its dark variant, analogous to a quantum computer, whose ground state would correspond to a bit sequence for an ordinary computer.
3. TGD inspired quantum biology suggests that exactly the same mechanism works for DNA in the living system and here phosphate ions would play a key role. In this case, OH^- qubits allow a realization of genetic code. TGD predicts a universal realization of genetic code in terms of tessellations of hyperbolic 3-space (mass shell of proper time constant hyperbolic of light-cone) (see this). Pollack effect is also key step in photosynthesis.

The problem with the idea of living computers seemed to be that living metals differ from biosystems in that they lack motor activities altogether. It did not occur to me whether liquid metals could be considered. If I had done this, I would have taken five minutes to find that Caesium, Rubidium, Mercury and Gallium (Ga) are exceptions: the melting temperatures are 28.5 C for Caesium, +40 C for Rubidium, -38.8 C for Mercury and 29.76 C for Ga. Ga has a very wide range of temperatures for liquid state: it boils at 2,204 C! This temperature corresponds to energy of .248 eV

The next question would have been whether anyone might have tried to engineer something like liquid metal life. To my great surprise, I learned that Chinese engineers have developed what could be called living metal (see this). Unfortunately, the FB posting did not give the link the orginal article but I glue the short posting here.

In a discovery straight out of science fiction, engineers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences have created a liquid metal alloy that can store information, compute logical operations, and morph shape all at room temperature.

The alloy is based on Ga mixed with rare earth elements, and what sets it apart is its internal programmable conductivity. When stimulated with tiny voltage pulses, it rearranges its internal atomic structure and remembers past inputs functioning like a primitive neural network.

This is not just a switch or sensor. It is a soft, deformable material that can perform computations while flowing, adapt its shape around barriers, and even react to past stimuli like a metallic brain in motion.

During lab tests, droplets of the liquid metal could solve simple logic gates, recognize patterns, and change course in a maze based on prior inputs. The alloy also exhibits self-repair, reconnecting broken pathways automatically.

It is the first hint of true material intelligence the idea that matter itself can think, store data, and interact with its environment without needing silicon or rigid electronics. This could reshape robotics, adaptive prosthetics, and soft-body machines that move and learn like living organisms.

We’re watching the birth of sentient materials wet, metallic, and quietly learning.

Ga and rare earth elements are involved. Some basic physical and chemical facts about Ga and rare earth elements are in order.

1. Ga is in the period 4 of the periodic table and has 1 p electron at the 4:th shell (see this see this). Ga is post-transition metal.
2. As already noticed, Ga melts at 29.76 C. Ga is a semiconductor. Ga nitride GaN and indium Ga nitride as a mixture of GaN and InN are used in electronics. Also blue and violet light-emitting diodes and diode lasers use Ga.
3. For Ga the oxidation state defined as the hypothetical charge of an atom if all of its bonds were fully ionic is predominantly +3 but also +1 is possible. This means that Ga tends to donate electrons. Interestingly, phosphorus P, playing a key role in biology, having oxidation states besides the naively expected -3 also +3, +5 are possible. For +3 and +5 P behaves like a metal. Also other oxidation states are possible for P. Clearly, the chemical complexity of P seems to be highly relevant to biology.

Rare earth elements typically exhibit a trivalent (+3) oxidation state, but some can also be found in divalent (+2) or tetravalent (+4) oxidation states under specific conditions. The article says that Ga has a programmable conductivity. Tiny voltage impulses control the conductivity just like in transistors. TGD predicts a mechanism of control relying on the modification of the energy difference between states OH and OH^-+ dark proton at monopole flux tube defining qubit (see this) and this)). This energy difference can be controlled by external voltage pulses and the system can be driven near criticality against the flip of the qubit. Note that besides this particular realization also other realizations of qubit are possible.

I decided to check whether something like this has been tried by anyone else. I found a New Scientist article published in 1911 telling about the work of Lee Cronin working at the University of Glasgow related to living metals (see this or this).

See the articles Quartz crystals as a life form and ordinary computers as an interface between quartz life and ordinary life? and Classical non-determinism in relation to holography, memory and the realization of intentional action in the TGD Universe.

For a summary of earlier postings see Latest progress in TGD.

For the lists of articles (most of them published in journals founded by Huping Hu) and books about TGD see this.

Source: https://matpitka.blogspot.com/2025/06/could-gallium-make-possible-liquid.html