Could living computers move?

Not long time ago, I wrote several articles 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 qubit 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 -O^- + dark proton 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.

1. The work of Jing Liu et al related to living liquid metals

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.

The following is the popular article telling about a later article, which I failed to find.

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.

2. Galinstan as an example of living metal

There is a nice web page (see this) giving some idea about what the statement that Ga is living could mean. The experiments that anyone can perform at home involves Galinstan, which is a mixture of post-transition metals Ga, In and Si, having Z= 31, 49, and 50. As post-transition metals, Ga, In and Si are next to the filled d-orbital with 10 electrons and have a partially filled p-shell.

Galinstan droplets are added into water and CuCl₂ is added and CuO(s) having a black color is formed. The reaction that occurs is 3Gal(s)+3CuCl₂ → 3Cu(s)+ 3GaCl₃(aq) followed by 2Cu(s)+O₂ → 2CuO(s). As a consequence, the surface tension of the droplet is reduced and it spreads. If the surface tension is dropped locally at the surface of the droplet, appendages are created. The addition of HCl(aq) induces the reaction CuO(s) +2HCl(aq)→ CuCl₂(aq)+H₂O(l).

If the droplet is put into a maze and also CuCl₂ is added, the droplet decomposes to worm-like pieces and starts to move and "eat" the CuCl₂ serving as a "food" and produces CuO(s). These worm-like pieces follow the food and go through the maze as if they were intelligent living entities.

3. The articles of Liu et al about living metals

I am grateful for Antonio Manzalini who kindly sent me a link to a popular article (see this ), which probably relates to this discovery. The article tells about the work of Jing Liu et al., "Liquid Metal Memory" published in Advanced Materials (2023) (see this ).

I managed to find a link to a theoretical article by Liu et al (see this). The following list given in the introduction of the article gives some idea of how far the study of artificial living matter has advanced.

1. Enzyme-containing metal-organic frameworks are wrapped as artificial organelles to assist in cellular functions.
2. Humidity-responsive and thermal-responsive biomimetic artificial muscles with helical structure.
3. A bionic octopus arm that can reach, sense, grasp, and interact.
4. Entirely soft autonomous robot assembled from multiple materials through integrated design and rapid manufacturing approach.
5. Biosimilar liquid-metal living matter, liquid-metal virus, Liquid-metal red blood cells and blood vessels, liquid-metal liver, liquid-metal fish.

"Breaking away from the long journey of natural selection to create biology-resembling living matter is exceedingly significant for understanding life and thus better enhancing the quality and length of human life. Among various potential ways to approach such a long-standing goal, liquid metals and their extended composites are providing rather promising answers. Here, we systematically present a basic framework and concept of liquid-metal living matter toward making biology-like objects through fully bringing out their unusual physical, chemical, and biological capabilities. The logical clues and technical approaches to achieve liquid-metal living matter were screened out in analogy to biological counterparts by following their sizes, structures, and functions spanning from cells, tissues, and organs to organisms. We first clarify biomimetic roles that liquid metals have exhibited in their autonomous behaviors and biotaxis to external fields. Then, we explain how to adopt liquid metals and their derivatives to form various liquid-metal cells, which could aggregate into corresponding tissues. Further, structural designs and combinatory integrations are suggested to realize liquid-metal organs and even biomimetic life. Finally, perspectives on applying liquid-metal living matter to construct artificial life are given, which warrants tremendous research and application opportunities in the future."

4. Some facts about Ga and rare earth elements

To discuss the findings described in the popular article about the findings of Liu et al some basic physical and chemical facts about Gallium 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 and this). Ga is so called post-transition metal being next to the transition metals, which are mostly rare earth elements with a partially filled d-orbital containing at most 10 electrons.
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.

5. TGD view of living metals

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 2010 telling about the work of Lee Cronin working at the University of Glasgow related to living metals (see this or this).

As a metal-liquid Ga allows a formation of cell-like structures having a core surrounded by an oxidized layer and the core might play the role of information processor analogous to DNA. Could it act as a semiconductor? The basic question is how to obtain a semiconductor involving Ga and at the same time possessing hydroxides OH for which OH ↔ O^- + dark proton) qubit is possible.

There are several semiconductors involving Ga.The simplest ones are GaN, GaP, GaAs , GaSb. Also gallium oxide Ga₂O₃ is a semiconductor (see this. One should modify these in such a way that one obtains OH groups. The basic problem is that they have high melting point.

Could the Pollack effect allow us to build effective Ga semiconductors and even transistor-like elements? Electrons and holes are essential for semiconductors. In n (p) type regions electrons doping is by atoms for which the number of valence electrons is larger (smaller) than atoms or molecules considered. In p type regions, doping is by atoms for which the number of valence electrons is smaller. Ga(OH)₃, which is in gel phase, is an excellent candidate for the semiconductor of this kind.

Pollack effect creating O^-+ dark proton from OH creates negatively charged exclusion zones (EZs). The delocalization of the negative charges of O^- ions as conduction electrons could give rise to an analog of n doping. In the presence of electric fields , these electrons can be removed from the EZ.

The dropping of the dark protons from the field body back to ordinary protons giving rise to O⁺ ions would give rise to p-type doping. In the case of water this would create OH₃⁺ ions responsible for the pH of water. This might give rise to np type junction and one can even imagine analogs of npn and pnp type transistors. These transistors would be dynamical and the ordinary bits and OH-O^-+ p qubits would be very closely related.

See the chapter Quartz crystals as a life form and ordinary computers as an interface between quartz life and ordinary life? or the article Could computers be living and move?.