This week we investigate a new ink that will allow thiner more versatile flat panel displays. We examine a new system for removing methane from air and we discover a new type of computer memory which takes us close to universal memory. Finally we reminisce over the debt of the Apple Macintosh 40 years ago this week.
Affordable Flat Panel Displays
A team at Berkeley Lab in California have developed a supramolecular ink for use in OLED display panels. Unlike current variations of OLED displays the new ink uses common materials which should make displays more affordable.
OLED’s or Organic Light Emitting Diodes are lighter, thinner, use less energy and have better picture quality than older types of screens. Older screens have an extra backlight layer which was eliminated. OLED’s also contain some rare and thus expensive materials such as iridium.
The new material contains powders containing hafnium and zirconium that can be mixed in solution at low temperatures (from room temperature to 80C) to form a semiconductor ink. This ink is a highly efficient emitter of blue and green light. The ink has the ability to convert nearly all absorbed light into visible light during the emission process.
The team fabricated a thin film display panel from the material and used it as a programmable electronic display. The film used is ultra thin and has fast switching capabilities. The ink can also be 3D printed which will be useful for decorative OLED lighting. There is potential for wearable devices that can display programmed images or illuminates for safety in low lighting conditions.
Prepare for a world where everything is a potential display (advertising or decorative). Currently only Blue and Green colors on a black background however I for one will rent out the back of my t-shirt to any interested advertiser for the right price.
Universal Memory
With ever increasing amounts of data the challenge for manufacturers is to develop faster, better memory. Currently computers store and process data in separate locations. Volatile memory is very fast but disappears when the computer is turned off. Non volatile memory is not as fast but can store data for long periods. Shifting data from one location to another can cause bottlenecks when large amounts of data are involved. This slows down your system and uses a lot of energy.
The ultimate goal of universal memory is to unite these two types of memory in the one location and device thus saving time and energy. A team at Stanford University have developed a new phase change memory which is a big step closer to universal memory.
Phase change memory allows switching between high and low resistance states to create the 1s and 0s needed by computers.
The memory uses an alloy of germanium, antimony and tellurium which was developed by a team at University of Maryland. The team at Stanford sandwiched this alloy between several other nanometer thin materials to form a lattice or a layered structure to achieve good nonvolatile memory results. This allows low energy use when switching. The material is stable and faster than a typical solid state drive.
Each memory cell is 40 nanometers in diameter and also allows stacking memory into thousands of layers to increase density. This type of memory may be useful for specialist AI applications which are highly memory and energy intensive.
Methane Cleaner
A team at the University of Copenhagen have used light and chlorine to remove low concentration methane from air. Methane is a much more problematic gas than carbon dioxide in terms of Global Warming. Up to 85 times more potent and half is from human induced sources.
If the methane concentration in air is more than 4% it can be burnt off. The flaring of oil and gas wells is an example (however most of those wells in Texas now burn the methane in a controlled burn to create energy to mine bitcoin but that is another story). Most human caused emissions are below 0.1% and unable to be burned.
The team built a reaction chamber inside which a chain reaction of chemical compounds takes place. This breaks down the methane removing a large portion of the gas from air. Current results show 88% of methane being removed. The key is the use of chlorine and light.
Methane does not often react with other things in the atmosphere. The addition of chlorine and light speeds up the reactions and breaks down methane roughly 100 million times faster than in nature.
Current livestock farms are high tech facilities. Ammonia is removed from the air through air purification systems. This same system with addition of this chamber could also be used to remove methane. Livestock housing and feed lots, wastewater treatment plants and biogas plants are all areas where methane leaks from the production process. All are suitable for methane cleansing.
The next step is to produce a larger prototype for testing in a livestock barn.
Mac at 40
Sorry to make some of you feel old but it was 40 years ago this week that Steve Jobs introduced the Apple Macintosh. On January 22, 1984 the Macintosh was featured in a Super Bowl ad directed by filmmaker Ridley Scott. If you have not seen the ad watch it here. It was revolutionary for its time.
The Macintosh was not the first computer to have a graphical user interface or icons, files, folders, a mouse, windows etc.. The Apple Lisa had all these 12 months earlier. The Macintosh was the first to put the emphasis on providing a satisfying, simplified user experience.
Computers at the time had complex input sequences in the form of typed commands or multi button mice. The Macintosh used a desktop metaphor where the computer screen represented a physical desk surface. The icons and folders were clicked on to open them. A one button mouse allowed users to click and double click and drag and drop without typing commands. Revolutionary for the time.
Other keyboard commands were replaced with drop down menus, point and click operations, draggable windows and icons, system wide undo, cut, copy and paste. The computer could only run one program at a time but this simplified the user experience. The learning curve for new users was flattened. Computing for the first time was now for everyone.
It is rare for consumer products today to succeed on functionality alone. Consumers now expect a good user experience and will pay a premium for it. The Macintosh stated that obsession. It was about people not the technology.
Paying it Forward
If you have a start-up or know of a start-up that has a product ready for market please let me know. I would be happy to have a look and feature the startup in this newsletter. Also if any startups need introductions please get in touch and I will help where I can.
If you have any questions or comments please comment below.
I would also appreciate it if you could forward this newsletter to anyone that you think might be interested.
Till next week.