New 'Super Stretchable' Conduction Wires For Cell phones

New conduction wires that can be stretched up to eight times their original length and used in headphones and phone chargers have been developed.

Scientists from North Carolina State University started with a thin tube made of an extremely elastic polymer and then filled the tube with a liquid metal alloy of gallium and indium, which is an efficient conductor of electricity.

 "Our approach keeps the materials separate, so you have maximum conductivity without impairing elasticity. In short, our wires are orders of magnitude more stretchable than the most conductive wires, and at least an order of magnitude more conductive than the most stretchable wires currently in the literature," said Dr Michael Dickey, assistant professor and co-author of the study.

The study was published in Advanced Functional Materials.