- Category: Science & Technology
By Leslie Meredith, LiveScience.com (Photo credit: University of Southhampton) The full grown morpho rhetenor butterfly, a native to South America. FULL-COLOR displays for e-readers could really take off soon — on the wings of butterflies. Qualcomm MEMS Technologies new Mirasol is the first full color, video-capable display on a prototype e-reader. Built on the concept of the iridescence of a butterfly’s wing, the new technology reflects light rather than transmitting light the way LCD screens do.
Sparkling Cherub - (Doxocopa cherubina) Wingspan: 2 1/2 - 2 3/4 inches
The display is readable in sunlight and offers unprecedented energy savings for longer battery life. E-readers may just be the beginning for Mirasol displays as consumers seek color in every device they use, better visibility in bright light, and days or even weeks worth of battery life.
Inspiration
The inspiration for Mirasol’s engineering came from nature’s most vividly colored creatures: the cerulean wing of a butterfly, the ruby throat of a hummingbird, and the rainbow flash of a tropical fish. The branch of science devoted to the study of technology imitating nature is known as biomimetics.
It gave us Velcro, which was invented in 1948 by Swiss chemist George de Mestral, who mimicked the way burrs stuck in his dog’s coat.
Velcro may be one of the few recognizable brand names to come out of biomimetics, but that may be about to change.
“Looking at pretty structures in nature is not sufficient,” said MIT chemical engineer Robert Cohen. “What I want to know is, can we actually transform these structures into an embodiment with true utility in the real world?” Qualcomm engineers say, yes we can.
A closer look at the mechanics of natural iridescence reveals a common structure across many species — layers of microscopic crystals in insect wings, bird feathers and fish scales. The crystals reflect light at different angles, causing light waves to interfere with one another, which we see as changing or iridescent colors. Scientists call it structural color, as opposed to color by pigmentation...MORE...
