The Seventh Kingdom: Is Technology Addiction Real Jan. 2015 | Page 54

UPCOMING MATERIALS &
OLED

OLED
Screens
(Organic Light Emitting
Diode) is a technology
or screens which do
not require a backlight
due to self-illuminating
pixels. This allows
screens to be as thin as
0.3mm and as a result,
enables the screens
to be flexible. The
quality of the screen is
superior in comparison
to LED backlit screens,
with a high response
time as well as high
contrast ratio. However
,
the main downside
of OLED technology
is the price. However
,
due to Mo ore’s law,
OLED screens are
becoming cheaper for
consumers every year
(Splash, 2015).

39

GRAPHENE

Graphene is said to
be the successor
of silicon over the
upcoming
years.
It is the thinnest
material
in
the
world, measuring to
a thickness of one
atom however it is
,
perfectly visible to
the naked-eye. The
a f o re m e n t i o n e d
silicon
is
used
in transistors for
digital
technology.
However
,
with
graphene replacing
this, it means devices
can become even
smaller and reach
even higher speeds
with lower power
consumption
(Nanotechnology
devices in the Future,
2014).

SAMARIUM-COBALT

Following on from
materials contributing
to nanotechnology,
Samarium
cobalt
is another material
which
will
be
popular with future
development
in
design
(although
not as much as
graphene).
This
material is highly
sensitive to magnetic
fields and allows
remote movement
of the product i.e.
nano robots made
from
SamariumCobalt are used to
explore and repair
people’s
eyeballs,
controlled remotely
via magnetic fields
(Nanotechnology
devices in the Future,
2014).

SHRILK

Discovered
at
Harvard University,
Shrilk is a bioinspired
plastic.
Made from shrimp
cells
and
silk
proteins, it is a
flexible,
strong
and
lightweight
m a t e r i a l s .
As
an
added
bonus, it is also
biodegradable,
meaning
it
integrates
well
with the trend of
sustaining
the
environment (The
Daily Mail, 2011).