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Researchers at the University of Tokyo have given new meaning to the term flexibility in the context of displays. They've developed of a stretchable display connected by organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) and organic transistors with a new highly-elastic conductor. Credit: Takao Someya, the University of Tokyo The rubbery display, pictured here on the left, can be stretched to 50% of its normal size, folded in half or crumpled up without incurring any damage, and can also cover complex three-dimensional objects. As Technology Review writes, the technology can lead to displays and simple computers that you can wear on your sleeve,...

May 19, 2008 There’s at least one reason to look forward to the InfoComm 2008 conference in Las Vegas this June with next-generation large-screen display manufacturer Shinoda Plasma announcing plans to exhibit a flexible, 1-millimeter thick, 125-inch film-type prototype display that can be used as a curved or wrap-around screen. At a low-key unveiling on May 15, Shinoda Plasma announced plans to exhibit the 3 x 1 meter, (9 feet 10-inches x 3 feet 3-inches) plasma tube array (PTA) display, which consists of 3 seamlessly integrated 1 x 1 meter square sub-modules and offers a resolution of 960 x 360...

January 16, 2007 Futurists’ might need to reappraise their forecasts for the look of the future if the promise of a new electroactive polymer materials with remarkable properties reaches full commercialisation. Start-up Crosslink has developed a material with an array of real-world applications that could profoundly influence how our living environments, possessions and clothes look in the future as it effectively offers almost any object the ability to become a light source. SuperFlex is a lightweight, crushable, durable electroluminescent (EL) lighting technology based on polythiophene, an inherently conductive polymer known as PEDOT. SuperFlex can be formulated to emit light in...

By developing a low-cost method for making high-performance transparent transistors, researchers at Northwestern University have taken an important step toward creating sharp, bright displays that could be laminated to windshields, computer monitors, and televisions but would blend into the background when not in use. For years, researchers have attempted to make flexible electronics based on electrically conducting plastics that can be manufactured inexpensively. There has been some success in making ones are nearly transparent. But these organic materials have produced transistors with disappointing performance, falling well short of the capabilities of transistors made with inorganic materials such as silicon. The...

New thin-film semiconductor techniques invented by University of Wisconsin-Madison engineers promise to add sensing, computing and imaging capability to an amazing array of materials. Historically, the semiconductor industry has relied on flat, two-dimensional chips upon which to grow and etch the thin films of material that become electronic circuits for computers and other electronic devices. But as thin as those chips might seem, they are quite beefy in comparison to the result of a new UW-Madison semiconductor fabrication process detailed in the current issue of the Journal of Applied Physics. A team led by electrical and computer engineer Zhenqiang (Jack)...

I need help finding sources of flexible solar power panels that (a) are shingle replacements, or (b) fit in the channels of **residential** ribbed metal roofs. I am specifically NOT looking for the old-fashioned boxed panels. These need to be 'architecturally' and aesthetically attractive. A kind FReeper pointed me to a source once before but I lost that thread. Any and all links are appreciated. Many thanks, Blueflag

An image scanner built into a piece of flexible plastic little bigger than a credit card has been developed in Japan. The idea is that you will plug the scanner into a mobile phone which will both provide power for it and act as its display and storage medium. And because it is flexible, it will let you copy just about anything, even if it is on a curved surface such as an open book or the label on a wine bottle. The lightweight device, unveiled last week at an electronics conference in San Francisco, is the latest development in...

The purpose of FreeRepublic.com's multiple message boards is to limit the topics for each board to particular topics. Posting the same message on all the boards defeats the purpose of multiple-boards for special topics. It is very annoying to see the same message on every bulletin board. PLEASE! DO THE READERS A FAVOR. STOP CROSS-POSTING YOUR MESSAGES!

Date: Posted 9/6/2002 Flexible Joints Associated With Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Researchers Find Researchers at Johns Hopkins Children's Center report that children and teens with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) are three and a half times more likely to have hyperflexible joints than their healthy counterparts. The findings, reported in the September issue of The Journal of Pediatrics, contradict widely shared clinical observations that people with CFS have normal physical examinations. CFS is an often disabling constellation of fatigue- and pain-related symptoms that can interfere with daily life and cause long absences from school. "This study suggests either that hypermobility itself is...