Electricity Conducting Plastic Now A Reality
Plastics which till now are used as insulators because of being poor conductors of electricity might be found to be used as conductors in the near future. Scientists claim to have found a new type of plastic which conducts electricity.
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An international team of scientists placed a thin film of metal on the plastic sheet and then mixed it with a polymer surface using an ion beam. The resulted material was found to conduct electricity. Prof Paul Meredith of University of Queensland stated, "What the team has been able to do here is use an ion beam to tune the properties of a plastic film so that it conducts electricity like the metals used in the electrical wires themselves, and even to act as a superconductor and pass electric current without resistance if cooled to low enough temperature."
The new material formed is stronger, flexible and a cheap conducting plastic film. The composite material has the desired chemical stability and low weight and this is accompanied with the thermal and electrical conductivity of the metals used for conduction purpose. This new variety of plastic has proved to be useful even at the industrial level. The scientists created electrical and platinum resistance thermometer of industrial standard to verify the conductivity of the material and the results were positive.
Professor Adam Micolich of University of New South Wales explained the benefits of the material. He said that this conducting plastic has an added advantage that it acquires all the qualities of polymers like flexibility, robustness and easy availability. Metals used for the purpose of conduction of electricity, on the other hand do not possess the above mentioned properties. The level of conduction in this material can be varied from zero to the amount of conduction in metals. Thus, this plastic can be used in various electronic devices making it light and sturdy as always.
In cars and in aircrafts, where the plastic components are equipped with printed circuit boards, this plastic-metal hybrid will be used. This material would definitely reduce the cost of production of the products in which it will be used and components will be produced in a single step. The new plastic-metal hybrid definitely has a lot of advantages but the very usage of plastic might become its disadvantage soon. With governments around the world prohibiting the use of plastic due to the difficulty in its disposal, this new step might further increase that problem. What is your opinion?
An international team of scientists placed a thin film of metal on the plastic sheet and then mixed it with a polymer surface using an ion beam. The resulted material was found to conduct electricity. Prof Paul Meredith of University of Queensland stated, "What the team has been able to do here is use an ion beam to tune the properties of a plastic film so that it conducts electricity like the metals used in the electrical wires themselves, and even to act as a superconductor and pass electric current without resistance if cooled to low enough temperature."The new material formed is stronger, flexible and a cheap conducting plastic film. The composite material has the desired chemical stability and low weight and this is accompanied with the thermal and electrical conductivity of the metals used for conduction purpose. This new variety of plastic has proved to be useful even at the industrial level. The scientists created electrical and platinum resistance thermometer of industrial standard to verify the conductivity of the material and the results were positive.
Professor Adam Micolich of University of New South Wales explained the benefits of the material. He said that this conducting plastic has an added advantage that it acquires all the qualities of polymers like flexibility, robustness and easy availability. Metals used for the purpose of conduction of electricity, on the other hand do not possess the above mentioned properties. The level of conduction in this material can be varied from zero to the amount of conduction in metals. Thus, this plastic can be used in various electronic devices making it light and sturdy as always.
In cars and in aircrafts, where the plastic components are equipped with printed circuit boards, this plastic-metal hybrid will be used. This material would definitely reduce the cost of production of the products in which it will be used and components will be produced in a single step. The new plastic-metal hybrid definitely has a lot of advantages but the very usage of plastic might become its disadvantage soon. With governments around the world prohibiting the use of plastic due to the difficulty in its disposal, this new step might further increase that problem. What is your opinion?
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