Aussie Researchers Create Plastic That Can Conduct Electricity

Gizmodo AU

In a nice discovery for Australian researchers at the University of Queensland and UNSW School of Physics, the team have created a plastic film that can conduct electricity in the same way metals conduct electricity across an electrical wire.

The breakthrough means that one day we may be able to make electrical circuits out of bendable plastics, paving the way for innovations in the way we charge, use and even how we build our gadgets.

The team were most impressed with how versatile the material was in its ability to conduct different magnitudes of electrical resistance – meaning, you could produce a plastic that could turn itself on and off (or something in-between), depending on the chosen current.

[Via PhysOrg]

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(2 Comments)
  • [–]

    NacaYoda

    Wednesday, February 23, 2011 at 11:44 AM

    Maybe we’ll soon be able to buy “affordable” portable headphones, with cables that continue to work as long as the speakers & devices they’re intended to connect.

    • [–]

      Daniel Long

      Wednesday, February 23, 2011 at 12:44 PM

      That would be nice indeed…

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