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Nanotube Speaker Film: Transparent, Stretchy, Likes Moldovan Pop
Posted by John Herrman at 8:15 PM on November 4, 2008
Scientists at Tsinghua University in Beijing have just perfected a process by which nanotubes can be coaxed to emit sound, allowing for the construction of ultra-thin, transparent, flexible 'speakers', demonstrated above affixed to a waving flag. Unlike normal speakers, which produce sound with direct vibration, these sheets produce sound with wildly fluctuating temperatures that create pressure oscillations in the surrounding air. In other words, these nanotube speakers — in contrast to other forays into flat sound production — don't vibrate at all.
In a second demonstration video, the speaker film is shown being stretched, while the emitted sound remains unperturbed. This could have tremendous ramifications for mobile music devices and phones, but the researchers didn't drop any clues as to when, or even if, this tech could make it to market. [New Scientist via Physorg]
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
soggy_cheerio
Posted 11:15 PM 4/11/08
Is it wrong that I busted a Gary Broslma to the first video?
soggy_cheerio
Shub-Niggurath
Posted 10:57 PM 4/11/08
sick sick nasty nasty
in the future, we will have tvs and speakers that are flush with the wall...
and we will become the society in Fahrenheit 451...
Shub-Niggurath
Boognish
Posted 11:45 PM 4/11/08
@Shub-Niggurath: that combined with oled wallpaper for sure
Boognish
Boba.Fett
Posted 11:41 PM 4/11/08
Is that Dragonstea Din Tei? My God, I had hoped that song died with the video.
Boba.Fett
ScruffytheJanitor
Posted 11:41 PM 4/11/08
@soggy_cheerio: No, that's an appropriate response.
ScruffytheJanitor
nightsky
Posted 12:33 AM 5/11/08
Do you think the scientists got the "Numa song" through legal channels?
nightsky
J. Nadeau
Posted 12:26 AM 5/11/08
This is fascinating
J. Nadeau
mikeness
Posted 12:10 AM 5/11/08
Oh nanotubes, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways....
mikeness
PastorDoodah
Posted 11:46 PM 4/11/08
This is wonderful. If the wind energy can power the gizmos we can have competing audio advertisements flapping in the breeze from garish flags mounted on every exterior surface in the world. That will be so fun.
PastorDoodah
Crescent
Posted 12:45 AM 5/11/08
imagine having a tshirt made of this! real human beatbox!
or we could have headphones sawn into all hats and stuff like that.
or you could cover the entire club with these, turn ppl crazy by pumping sound from all angles!
DAAAAAMN!
Crescent
ErgonomicUncle
Posted 1:27 AM 5/11/08
@Crescent:
Or have all the shirts on a radio tuned to the club's radio. The more attendees, the louder it gets.
ErgonomicUncle
Eric 'Vote 4 Me' Alder
Posted 1:42 AM 5/11/08
@Crescent: But wouldn't the 'wildly fluxuating temperatures' be uncomfortable, if not potentially dangerous?
Eric 'Vote 4 Me' Alder
FredicvsMaximvs
Posted 2:18 AM 5/11/08
If you extrapolate a bit, to something like ultrasound, that'd be some pretty neat stuff too. Off the top of my head, I'm envisioning a cloth with ultrasound capabilities for cleaning stuff.
FredicvsMaximvs
Bokusatsu_Tenshi
Posted 2:10 AM 5/11/08
Something I didn't understand: Is the flag flailing BECAUSE of the music, or it was only a demonstration on how flexible the thing is?
Very interesting stuff
Bokusatsu_Tenshi
maztec
Posted 2:06 AM 5/11/08
So, if these nanotubes leach into the body, will our skin play music?
And, what is this about working through heat? Why can I see that coming to a bad end.
maztec
geoffcbassett
Posted 2:03 AM 5/11/08
Next gen laptop speakers.
geoffcbassett
DeLarge
Posted 2:00 AM 5/11/08
Nice. I am wondering about how long these devices are going to last, regarding the "flag effect" on which the end of the flag is exposed to higher speeds/stress making this part more suitable for breakup, rags, etc.
DeLarge
Platypus Man
Posted 2:20 AM 5/11/08
My friends and eventually determined that the reason Superman's theme was always playing when he was flying was because of his cape. That's also the only reason Supes wears the thing. This finally explains how such a thing is possible! Though, this may mean that the Chinese are experimenting with Kryptonian technology, so we should be very, very afraid...
Platypus Man
KLanD
Posted 3:04 AM 5/11/08
Very very cool.
KLanD
farrellj
Posted 3:00 AM 5/11/08
Remember, every speaker can be turned into a microphone....
(ins #tinfoilhat)
ttyl
farrellj
Zomb
Posted 4:38 AM 5/11/08
@Shub-Niggurath: I'm imagining a TV where the screen is the speaker
Zomb
cudthecrud
Posted 4:51 AM 5/11/08
@PastorDoodah: It wasn't powered by the wind, but rather I think the wind was created by the noise coming from the speaker.
Which would make for some pretty awesome dance moves should these speakers be used to cloth Bernie.
cudthecrud
Zomb
Posted 4:39 AM 5/11/08
@geoffcbassett: that are part of the screen
Zomb
goods
Posted 6:17 AM 5/11/08
cue tighty whitey's emanating porn music. *CHIKA CHIKA BOW BOW*
goods
LoganSix
Posted 6:25 AM 5/11/08
Musical toilet paper?
LoganSix
aec007
Posted 10:43 AM 5/11/08
@LoganSix:
Darn... Got it first... EXACTLY what I though!
aec007
CapitalC
Posted 10:54 AM 5/11/08
Either the recording microphone was just crap or the fidelity of the proof-of-concept leaves something to be desired. Bass anyone?
CapitalC
RedBeard
Posted 4:16 PM 5/11/08
i wonder how it handles abuse or water.
RedBeard
TheLostVikings
Posted 5:27 PM 5/11/08
@Zomb: Since nanotubes can be made transparent that sounds like a pretty likely application to me.
TheLostVikings
Brau
Posted 9:10 PM 5/11/08
Freaky!!
Brau
h3r0
Posted 3:11 AM 6/11/08
needs some bass
h3r0