What Is Mirasol Display Technology?

There's a new display technology for e-book readers that could one day be adapted to displays of cell phones and even large gadgets like television sets.

The invention's advantages over liquid crystal display (LCD) screens and others currently used include extremely low power consumption, readability under direct sunlight, and bright colors. It's called the Mirasol or interferometric modulation (IMOD) display. It's a micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) device from Qualcomm MEMS Technologies.

The Mirasol display technology is actually a state-of-the-art biomimetics system for displaying images and video. Being biomimetic, this technology is derived from nature, specifically the scales on butterfly wings which reflect light to produce iridescence. Each IMOD element of the display is made of two plates that manage reflected light by changing the gap between them, producing different colors. Each IMOD element serves as a microscopic pixel that changes color. COmbined with millions of pixels, an image is created.

Unlike LCD screens, which produce light from electricity, a Mirasol display produces images largely from the ambient light that it reflects back. The result is a display with a lightning-fast refresh rate, readability in both low-light and extreme light conditions, and thinner-than-LCD display casings.

The low energy requirements of Mirasol displays allow battery life expectancy measured in weeks, not hours or days. This long battery life increases options for features and allows for long video playback not possible with regular LCD screens. The developers say the technology is also scalable, which means it can be applied to larger devices in the future as the technology develops.

For now, Mirasol display technology is being used for e-readers. It is envisioned to be a substitute for paper and is expected to open new doors in the publishing industry, paving the way for compact, thin, and light e-readers with access to information that people can take practically anywhere.

How the Future Can Be Powered by Energy from Urine

We all regard urine as waste material. In fact, once we get it out of our system, we stay clear of it. But the fact is that there's treasure in urine. Scientists from Ohio University are devising ways of extracting hydrogen from it and using this gas as a source of energy for house heaters to car engines. The basic technique of extracting hydrogen from urine uses electrolysis. This process breaks down urine's main component, urea, producing useful hydrogen. Gerardine Botte, the lead researcher, says that urea gets adsorbed on to the nickel electrode surface of an electrolytic setup. This then relays the electrons needed to break down the molecule.

Botte says one cow (or the urine from one) is enough to heat the water of 19 houses. So ten cows, including bulls, can heat up to a hundred houses. That's already the size of a village! Animals are urine factories, dumping tons and tons of it into the environment. In cities, especially in depressed areas, the smell of human urine can be prevalent. If the urine from all the urinals in a city can be collected, that's probably enough to provide a big percentage of energy to the overall requirement of the whole city. In the future, the hydrogen that will be used for fuel in automobiles may be coming from urine.

How cow dung can save the environment.