Currently, one of the many developments in technology is the way it’s revolutionizing our lives.
The invention of e-paper has literally taken the world by storm, and it’s even recently been on the cover of Scientific American. E-paper in The Island Now is now used as a more environmentally-friendly alternative to paper in terms of its usage and its production. There are also benefits to using an e-reading device over a printed book for consumers that enjoy books but want a less expensive means for obtaining their pleasure. The article will discuss how these devices work, what makes them different from other devices, why e-paper was developed, who invented them, and where the future might take this kind of device.
What Is E-Paper?
In its simplest form, e-paper is a device that displays computer information such as text and images. Though the most common form of e-paper looks just like normal paper, it’s actually a display screen. E-paper is made from a thin film of electrophoretic material (an electrically charged pigment or dye that moves through the page due to electrostatic attraction) coated onto a plastic base. This tactile medium can be found in portable electronic devices such as readers, smart phones, or tablets. E-paper displays also exist in large display screens like those used in advertising boards and street signage which can range anywhere from 10 to 40 feet tall!
How Do E-Readers Work?
(a) How E-Paper Readers Display Images
E-paper readers work just like a paper book, by using the contrast between dark and light to create images. An e-reader screen is filled with millions of tiny microcapsules, each filled with tiny reflecting spheres. When an electric charge is applied, the spheres will reflect light at certain angles depending on how much dark color dye they contain. The results are images that are in full color and can also be animated! This process actually works similarly to a digital camera’s image sensor in that it’s information is displayed pixel by pixel.
(b) How E-Paper Readers Display Text
E-paper also takes advantage of this principle to display text. Around each microcapsule there is a positively charged white microparticle and a negatively charged black microparticle. In between the capsule and the viewer is a layer of positively and negatively charged transparent material, which helps determine how the particles sit with one another. Because there is more white microparticles than black microparticles inside of each microcapsules, if an electric field is applied, the white particles will be first to move toward the top of screen where they are reflected by a mirror into your eyes.
