Galinstan can replace mercury in
thermometers at moderate temperatures. Galinstan has higher reflectivity and lower density than mercury. In
astronomy, it can replace mercury in
liquid-mirror telescopes. Metals or alloys like galinstan that are liquids at room temperature are often used by
overclockers and enthusiasts as a
thermal interface for computer hardware cooling, where their higher thermal conductivity compared to thermal pastes and thermal epoxies can allow slightly higher clock speeds and CPU processing power achieved in demonstrations and competitive overclocking. Two examples are
Thermal Grizzly Conductonaut and
Coolaboratory Liquid Ultra, with thermal conductivities of 73 and 38.4 W/mK respectively. Unlike ordinary thermal compounds which are easy to apply and present a low risk of damaging hardware, galinstan is electrically conductive and causes
liquid metal embrittlement in many metals including aluminium which is commonly used in heatsinks. Despite these challenges the users who are successful with their application do report good results. In August 2020,
Sony Interactive Entertainment patented a galinstan-based thermal interface solution suitable for mass production, for use on the
PlayStation 5. Galinstan is difficult to use for cooling fission-based
nuclear reactors, because indium has a high
absorption cross section for
thermal neutrons, efficiently absorbing them and inhibiting the fission reaction. Conversely, it is being investigated as a possible coolant for fusion reactors. Its nonreactivity makes it safer than other liquid metals, such as
lithium and
mercury. The wetting characteristics of galinstan can be utilized to fabricate conductive patterns, allowing it to be used as a liquid, deformable conductor in soft robotics and stretchable electronics. Galinstan can be used to replace wires, interconnects, and electrodes as well as the conductive element in inductor coils and dielectric composites for soft capacitors. The metal flows from a nozzle downward at a high speed, and the high-intensity electron source is focused upon it. The rapid flow of metal carries current, but the physical flow prevents a great deal of anode heating (due to forced-convective heat removal), and the high boiling point of galinstan inhibits vaporization of the anode. ==See also==