Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
Electronic Erasable Paper - Xerox Seeks E-Palimpsest
Electronic reusable paper could reduce waste; as many as 40% of paper copies in offices are used for only a single day. Xerox is still looking for the perfect palimpsest, which is the word scholars use to describe a piece of writing material that has been erased and used again. The word "palimpsest" comes from two Greek root words meaning "scraped again."
(Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus palimpsest [5th Cent. Greek] close-up)
The Romans (experienced managers that they were) actually came up with tablets that could be reused. They were made of wood, and covered with wax. Writing was done with a pointed instrument; a straight-edged instrument was used in a razor-like fashion to re-smooth the surface for another use. We get the expression "clean slate" from the Latin tabula rasa, although as you can see above, traces remain of earlier writing.
(Wood Waxed Tablet)
Xerox PARC has already come up with one product that fits the bill (and is somewhat more technologically advanced): Gyricon, which uses a thin layer of transparent plastic composed of small beads.
(Modern E-Palimpsest)
The beads have a light side and a dark side; when a voltage is applied to the bichromal beads at particular places on the sheet, the beads rotate to create an image.
(Gyricon bichromal bead close-up)
The Sony Reader was introduced earlier this year; it uses this technology in a continuously-refreshable form as an electronic book.
Science fiction writers are trying to encourage the process: in his 2003 novel Darwin's Children, Greg Bear gives a pretty good idea of how erasable paper might be used to create a more secure communication:
He removed the e-sheet from the attaché case and folded the red corner to activate. A keypad appeared in the lower half. He entered the code of the day and read his briefing from the emergency action special reconnaissance office.
(Read more about e-sheets)
Read Xerox Seeks Erasable Form of Paper for Copiers; via /.; check out the Sony reader with e-paper screen. Tired of waiting for the perfect E-Palimpsest? Try making your own waxed tablet with instructions by Randy Asplund, sf and fantasy illustrator.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 11/27/2006)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 3 )
Related News Stories - (" Media ")
'Facetime Facelift' Beautifies Video Chats
Always look your best - on Facetime.
Meeting Wendy Of Wendy's
Wendy of Wendys meet Rondald of McDonald's.
Narrative Science And Phil Dick's Homeostatic Newspaper
'The structure... was once a great homeostatic newspaper, the New York Times.'
BookTrack Adds Sound To Books
I really don't think this is a very good idea. Readers?
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Meta's Horizon Studio's Unique Avatars From Text Prompts
'Looks like she has bought the Avatar Construction Set and put together her own...'
VaMEx Biomimetic Mars Robot Inspired By Skink
'Across the ground something small and metallic came, flashing in the dull sunlight of midday.'
NEO Brain Computer Interface (BCI)
'The remains of the lace took on the rough shape of a brain...'
Did Frank Herbert Predict E-Ink Displays?
'A broken circle with arrows pointing to a right-hand flow appeared in the chalf.'
Monolith One Giant Industrial Metal 3D-printer
'The object seemed melted together like wax — nothing was distinguishable.'
'Mooncrete' Lunar Regolith Concrete (LRC)
'And here they began to build...'
China's 'Magpie Drone' Ornithopter
'Midges have many capabilities. To the untrained eye, they look like sparrows.'
MAI-Voice-2 Microsoft Text-To-Speech
'I made disks of my own voice to the number of five hundred very carefully chosen words.'
Tumblin' Tumbleweed Rovers To Eplore Mars
'His sensors out and working, and the whirring of the tape that sucked up sight and sound and shape and smell and form...'
Tentacled Robot Captures Space Debris
Preventing annoying space debris build-up.
Prufrock-MB2 Ready In Nashville
'It sounds to me as though you had invented a kind of metal earthworm.'
DIY Robotic Content Farming
'The chief wheeled to the master machine and pressed a button.'
Reflect Orbital Sunlight On Demand
'I don't have to tell you about the seven two-mile-diameter orbital mirrors that circulate around the satellite, making it habitable.'
The Amazing Lightfoot Electric Scooter With Solar Assist
'The steel tortoise gave MacKinnon a feeling of Crusoe- like independence.'
Fully Electric, Fully Automated Vegetable‑growing Agribots
'...then back to their work, though little enough it was on these automatic cultivators.'
Vero Robotic Dog With Vacuum Cleaner Feet
'Out of warrens in the wall, tiny robot mice darted.'
