Trying to read an unwieldy newspaper on a crowded train is tricky—and
annoy your fellow passengers. But researchers at the Xerox Palo Alto Research
Center in California have the answer. They say a newspaper could be beamed by
radio to a 40-centimetre wide plastic rod called a “newsreader”. Inside the rod
is a coiled transparent rubber sheet coated with plastic. The sheet contains
millions of microscopic metal balls in oil-filled cavities, each ball coloured
half-black and half-white. Electric fields simply flip selected balls over so
that they look either white or black and display the words in response to the
radio signal. “You have a row of electrodes along the slit in the newsreader,”
says Xerox’s Nick Sheridan. “With those, the page can be written as you pull it
dzܳ.”
More from New Scientist
Explore the latest news, articles and features
Technology
Test moderators use AI-generated writing to judge literacy standards
News
Mind
THC in cannabis may reduce nightmares in people with PTSD
News
Environment
Fishers detonate a bomb every hour on one Indonesian coral reef
News
Environment
How bad is the UK drought and how long will it continue?
News
Popular articles
Trending New Scientist articles