CENIMAT
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Paper batteries recharge from moisture in the air, seemingly defy laws of nature
Some like working with clay, some like carving from stone, others etch out of silicon, but the team at CENIMAT apparently really likes plain 'ol paper. The researchers there proved they could print transistors on the stuff back in 2008, and now they're making paper batteries too. But that's nothing new, others have made mache cells for years. What's exciting here is that these batts charge with water, and they don't need very much of the stuff to juice up. Just 40 percent humidity in the air is enough to regain their potency, a threshold that might put them out of the realm of possibility for self-recharging power for Vegas lights, but something tells us the voltage coming out of this pulp couldn't cope with that kind of strain anyhow. [Thanks, Manuel]
Transistors on paper become a reality
Check it, nerds. A team over at the Universidade Nova de Lisboa has reportedly figured out a way to use paper (yes, paper) as an interstrate component of a Field Effect Transistor (FET). In testing, the group "fabricated the devices on both sides of the paper sheet," thus causing the paper to act as the "electric insulator and as the substrate" simultaneously. Remarkably, results showed that performance actually rivaled that of best-in-class oxide thin film transistors, giving revived hope for the realm of disposable devices like paper displays, labels, intelligent packaging, tracking tags, etc. The findings are scheduled to be published this September, after which we're sure any firms interested in taking this stuff commercial will be putting their best foot forward.[Via Scientific Blogging]
