No, they’re not, but electronics are starting to become quite stretchy. Researchers at the University of Michigan have discovered that nanoparticles and elastic components can be combined to make conductors that stretch.
This means bendable displays, batteries, medical implants that move with the body instead of pressing up against it, and much more. This could actually lead to the creation of paper thin displays and multimedia magazines and newspapers you can hold in your hands!
Of course, we’re still a long ways from that.
The way the new stretchable electrical components works is simple. You know those bracelets and necklaces you have that are silver or gold plated? Same concept; nanoparticles made of conductible metal is placed along an elastic component to create what is essentially an elastic electronic conductor.
The biggest problem researchers face is finding the type of metal that can keep it’s charged after being stretched to twice its normal size. So far, the best conductor they’ve found is gold. That’s bad news for us seeing as how expensive gold is at the moment, but hopefully they’ll soon find a cheaper means of accomplishing the same goal.
Still, I can wait for my paper thin multimedia-rich copy of Game Informer! What magazine would you like to see a multimedia-rich physical copy of?
Source – Science Daily
