Electronic ink is a liquid substance, in development at MIT's Media Lab
in partnership with a company called E Ink, that responds to electrical
impulses to enable changeable text and image displays on a flexible surface.
Electronic ink will be used for applications such as e-books, electronic
newspapers, portable signs, and foldable, rollable displays. Electronic
ink consists of millions of tiny capsules filled with dark dyes and containing
negatively charged white chips, floating in a substance like vegetable oil.
With a printer-like device, the electronic ink-coated material - which,
according to researchers, could be just about any flat surface - is subjected
to electrical impulses that act upon the white chips to make them display
as light or dark-colored. A positive charge applied to an area on the top
of the display medium causes the white chips to float to the top surface,
and a charge applied to an area on the bottom of the medium causes them
to drop to the bottom. The pattern of charges applied in concert enables
the display of images and text. Information to be displayed is downloaded
through a connection to a computer or a cell phone, or created with mechanical
tools such as an electronic "pencil".
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