“On March 20, 2014, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals Apple’s work with spherically shaped nano particles and pigment nano-particles in particular that could be used in inks or dyes and applied to devices via screen printing and spraying processes,” Jakc Purcher reports for Patently Apple.
“If you’re an industrial designer or student in this field, you may find this invention to be of great interest to you. For the rest of us, it’s a little over our heads,” Purcher reports. “Though admittedly, it’s an interesting invention only because it’s a coloring process that could be used with future products made of sapphire.”
Purcher reports, “Apple also notes that ‘another advantage associated with the use of silver nano-particles is their utility in providing an anti-microbial coating to a device.'”
Much more, including Apple’s patent application illustrations, in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Dan K.” for the heads up.]
Some microbials are good.
Indeed. None of us would be alive without our mitochondria, which are a line of bacteria that took up residence in our cells and set up a symbiotic relationship. Then there are the fermentation bacteria and the dairy bacteria both in ruminants and our dairy products. On and on. Our earliest ancestors may well have been anaerobic sulfur digesting bacteria.
On and on indeed….
I can see it now: Folks well be running and queuing up for stuff coated with silver because it’s ‘anti-microbial’. The latest cure-all snake oil. Sorry, but silver does NOT kill all microbes. A great example: The tetanus bacteria encyst and happily lay around on silver until someone cuts themselves on a sliver of it. Then the bacterium happily multiplies until you’re either paralyzed or stiffed.
IOW: It’s not so simple.
Meanwhile: The danger with nano particles is getting them into your lungs, eyes and other orifices. Their affects are more intimate with living tissue than mere dust in the air. We’ve barely begun to chart the consequences of exposure to various densities of various nano particles. It’s going to be a new aspect of medicine, good and bad.
Man you come up with such interesting stuff Derek. I’d never heard of nano particles in this sense before.
I assume the greatest danger is in manufacturing with this stuff
Coincidentally, I am reading a book by Neal Stephenson titled ‘The Diamond Age’. It goes into remarkable detail about nanotechnology including the benefits and problems of having nano particles flying around in the air. He wrote it in 1995! It was a new subject to me.
On and on and on and in
During manufacturing nano-particle powders are very dangers. What Apple has patented is use of a nano-particle suspending in a wet coating. The window film (tint) industry has been coating with nano-particles for over 10 years to change the transparency, color and performance properties of glass in cars or buildings.
Thank you! I wish I could keep track of all the tech going on. Lately, I’m having trouble just keeping up with computer security and hacking.
I think the next 5C should have swirling color mix schemes. All that plastic oozing together in color would be awesome!
Maybe this will lead to devices that will be able to change color or patterns. For example, if I am wearing a white shirt I would like a white iPhone or iWatch to match. Red socks – red iDevice, etc. I know this can semi-acomlished with a case, but having the iDevice change color would be cooler.
Apple patented what might be described as a chameleon case many years ago. The idea was that it could change colour, either for aesthetic reasons, or to provide a form of visual feedback. Apple hasn’t used that patent in any products so far.