In the magical world of Harry Potter, even the posters and paintings are alive with animated images! But in our muggle world they could soon be a reality.
In fact, if scientists get it right, in the not-too-distant future you could be carrying a paper movie screen around in your back pocket!
PAPER EVOLUTION
For many thousands of years paper and paper-like substances have allowed people to jot down their thoughts and ideas, spread those ideas to as many people as possible, and preserve them across time.
However, paper has one major drawback. Once you’ve printed words or images on a sheet of paper it is usually impossible to change them.
But several major research and development companies around the world have put their pens to paper in an effort to design and develop a modern version of paper that can be printed with changeable text as well as animated images.
It sounds like science fiction, but this research is likely to change the way we use everything from books and magazines to wallpaper and clothing!
ELECTRIFYING INK
To achieve this exciting goal, two companies (E Ink and Xerox) are trying to develop a new form of ink that can be added to all sorts of surfaces to create animated, easily updated displays.
Both company’s inks are very similar in design. They are made up of millions of tiny spherical microcapsules that can be flipped by an electric current to reveal two different coloured sides.
Scientists believe that once this technology is perfected, they will be able to use it to produce a vibrant, ever-changing colour display on a variety of surfaces.
ONE BOOK FITS ALL
Meanwhile, scientists at the Linköping University in Sweden have managed to create a series of display cells on a piece of paper by printing it with semi-conducting polymers.
When an electric current is applied to these polymers they change colour. Scientists hope to be able to use it to create animated displays on paper and other surfaces.
At present each of these technologies is hindered by many technical difficulties. But scientists at Phillips Research Laboratories believe they are close to solving most of these problems.
They have used their own research to create plans for a form of electric paper with a high-resolution colour display that will be able to generate 100 new images per second. This paper will create a display using tiny cells filled with coloured oil and water.
When no current is applied to a cell, the coloured oil will cover its base, obscuring a white layer below. However, when a current is applied to a cell the water will wet the base, pushing the oil to one side and displaying the white layer underneath.
The big question is, how is this technology likely to be used? For starters, instead of collecting a library of books, you could own just one. Anytime you wanted to read a new book, all you’d have to do is download it from the Internet.
Newspapers could include video of newsworthy events and the entertainment section could even include trailers for movies!
Advertising billboards would certainly be more striking with moving images, and just imagine the changes we could make to Challenge!.
So, keep your eyes on our pages over the next few decades. The exciting world of cinema is likely to creep into our magazine.
But will you be reading a movie? Or watching a magazine?
