Liquid metal consists of gallium-contained alloys with very low melting points. These low melting point alloys are liquid at room temperature. The standard used to be mercury but gallium-based alloys are being used as a replacement in various applications. Mercury has a high vapor pressure at room temperature. These alloys have reduced toxicity and a lower vapor pressure than mercury.
Alloy systems that are liquid at room temperature have a high degree of thermal conductivity far superior to ordinary non-metallic liquids. This results in the use of these materials for specific heat conducting and/or dissipation applications. Other advantages of liquid alloy systems are their inherent high densities and electrical conductivities.