Flat Screen Breakthrough

The latest holy grail is an inexpensive, hi-res flat screen. While most R&D labs are still tinkering with liquid crystal display technology, a research team led by Walt de Heer and André Chatelain from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne are aiming to leapfrog them all by using microscopic "nanotubes."

"They work like lightning rods in reverse," says physicist de Heer. Invented in 1991, nanotubes are tiny graphite needles less than 1 micron in both length and diameter. When arranged on a Teflon sheet and blasted with voltage, nanotubes behave similarly to current display systems but use less power, are cheaper to produce, and will easily surpass the clarity of LCDs typically used in laptops.

Will this mean a sharp, clear, paper-thin screen for your PowerBook? "We do not have a display yet," de Heer admits, "but if all goes well, I think we're looking at about five years."