You know that space age Liquidmetal technology we love to hear about that’s in everything from high-tech gadgets to thousand dollar watches? Well, it may have just become an internal component to some seriously jaw dropping technology. Apple uses Liquidmetal in the iPhone and iPad casing — oddly enough not in the iPhone 4s back glass — but apparently a new use for this ultralight weight stronger than steel GMO substance has been found; to house a vat of potentially explosive combustable liquid to power your gadgets.

Yes, thats right, Liquidmetal will help power the next iPhone 5, if the latest evidence is to be believed.  So how is Liquidmetal being used for fuel cells? The patent describes the “amorphous alloy” used to make collector plates for fuel cells, it doesn’t specifically use the Liquidmetal name, but the electrochemical battery technology that will use hydrogen to generate electricity with amorphous alloy is owned by Apple.

How long does your current smartphone stay charged for? In standby mode 90% of the time, a week tops. Compare that to a month of constant use on a Liquidmetal fuel cell. Would you buy the iPhone 5 with a 30 day battery charge? Apple seems to think so, and it seems that Liquidmetal may have more uses than we initially believed.

[Cult of Mac, Gizmodo via USPTO]