Silver News
Silver Particles on Holograms Say You’ve
Had Too Many Beers - Other Applications on Tap
Images on holograms composed of silver particles hold promise for commercial applications ranging from labels that change color to indicate spoiled food to visual alarms warning
when a person’s alcohol level indicates impairment.
Describing his work at the recent American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in Washington, DC, Cambridge University professor Chris Lowe described how
prototypes of contact lenses that monitor glucose levels and plastic sticks that tell if milk has been spoiled force color changes in holograms that can produce numbers or words against a background.
No training is involved to use the products from Lowe’s
company Smart Holograms because the warning is there for anyone to read. For example, a holographic badge that checks a person’s glucose level could give the person’s alcohol level in percentage levels or simply state the words “not legal to drive.”
The holograms work because silver particles are placed on a thin polymer strip which can be designed to change shape in different chemical environments. The changing shape moves the
bands of silver particles, changing brightness and contrast of the hologram and allowing words, phrases or numbers to be hidden or visible.
Silver News - Second Quarter 2005
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