optoelectronics
Latest
Extra-thin LEDs put a screen on your skin
Eventually, wearable displays might be so thin that they effectively blend into your skin. University of Tokyo researchers have developed an optoelectronic skin whose polymer LEDs and organic photodetectors are so thin (3 micrometers) that they practically blend in with your body. If it weren't for the thin film needed to attach the display in the first place, it'd look like a tattoo. The technology more efficient than previous attempts at these skins, running several days at a time, and it's durable enough that it won't break as you flex your limbs.
ICYMI: Computer chips cooled by 'blood,' tiny tank and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-392885{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-392885, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-392885{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-392885").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: IBM Research in Zurich is using fluid to both power and cool computer chips, modeled off of the way the human brain works. University of Southampton scientists created small glass discs for mega data storage that they say can survive for billions of years. A new unmanned ground vehicle that's basically a DIY tank is available for all those die-hard infantry fans. If you need your dose of nature, check out the video from a Minnesota-based YouTuber of the ice on Lake Superior breaking. As always, please share any interesting science or tech videos, anytime! Just tweet us with the #ICYMI hashtag to @mskerryd.
Scientists put color on your bling with micro carvings, gangsters pacified
Remember that time when you sipped some herbal tea and thought, "I really want a pink gold ring?" Yeah, that was some good tea alright, but the brainiacs at the University of Southampton have actually found a way to achieve this potential fashion trendsetter. The idea is simple: rather than coating metals -- especially naturally colored ones like gold and copper -- with paint, these folks alter their color by using an ion beam to carve fine patterns that are smaller than visible light's wavelength. The resultant metamaterial dramatically boosts the metals' light absorption efficiency, thus reflecting a different color depending on the pattern's radius and etch depth. So for instance, gold can reflect colors ranging from orange to red to green to brown with its ring pattern etch depth ranging from 85nm to 205nm, respectively. See? We told you it's simple, but there's also some visual aid after the break to wrap up this science lesson.
