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Electronic paper may lead to watchable clothing Ananova Wednesday 24th September 2003 A new electronic colour paper capable of showing moving pictures could
give rise to "cinematic suits". Scientists in the Netherlands have developed a thin flexible display
that switches rapidly from one colour to the next. It operates fast enough to make moving images possible, setting it
apart from previous electronic paper technology. The system works at low voltages and could have a wide range of
applications, say the researchers. One future possibility might be clothing or wearable devices that can
show movies. The technology, described in the journal Nature, works on the old
premise that oil and water do not mix. In each unit, or pixel, of the device, water and coloured oil is
naturally separated into layers above a white backing sheet. When an electric field is applied across the paper, the oil is quickly
deflected to one side, revealing the white underlayer. A press release issued by Nature said: "This rapid switching
endows the paper with the potential ability to display moving images. "The pictures are four times brighter than reflective
liquid-crystal displays and twice as bright as other emerging technologies. The
system works at low voltages, making it usable in a wide range of electro-optic
devices. We may yet see wearable cinematic suits." The system was developed at Philips Research, part of the electrical
giant, in Eindoven. Researchers Robert Hayes and BJ Feenstra wrote: "Its high
switching speed and a straightforward path to high-brightness full-colour
display set it apart from other emergent electronic paper technologies." |
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