Electrically Conductive Plastic Polymer 118
AustinSlacker writes to mention Fox news is reporting that a Dutch researcher is announcing a breakthrough in plastics. A new way of rebuilding plastics could allow them to conduct electricity just as well as the silicon wafers currently used in electronic gadgets. "Prins discovered that in plastics, the movement of electric charges was mainly hindered by the shape of the polymer, the chain-like molecular structure [that is] the basis of each kind of plastic. Prins extended the work of a German group that had reshaped a polymer to form a ladder-like structures. By bombarding the specially developed plastic with electrons from a particle accelerator, she was able to study rapid electrical reactions and demonstrate the new plastic's ability to conduct electricity much better than regular plastic and as well as silicon chips."
Re:let me know when copper is an insulator. (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Bad news, good news (Score:3, Informative)
this misses the point entirely though, the main advantage is that the manufacturing process would be theoretically less expensive. much of the cost and difficulty with silicon chips today is involved with the manufacture/conditioning of the silicon wafers. plastics are very cheap these days.
Re:Possible use in solar cells? (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Neat! (Score:2, Informative)
Invented by a girl... (Score:2, Informative)
By the way, she's not bad looking at all, picture (and phone number!) here: http://www.tudelft.nl/live/pagina.jsp?id=40a4cfdf
Re:Bad news, good news (Score:2, Informative)
Some perspective on conductive polymers (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Computer of the future is near (Score:3, Informative)
new Mercedes have a short range radar built into the cruise control. So if you come up behind a car moving slower than yourself it taps the brakes to slow you down to the speed of a car in front of you. it's not perfect if the vechicle is moving to slow or not moving you will sill hit it, but it does work say comingup on someone doing 50 while your doing 70.
In the 1970's Mercedes where one of the first companies shipping air bags standard. now they are shipping smarter cruise controls.
Those sci-fi ideas are slowly becoming reality.
Re:let me know when copper is an insulator. (Score:3, Informative)