If you have ever taken a science class where you learn about circuits, you have probably learned about how to light a light bulb. To do this, you must connect it to a battery using wires. This begins to prove difficult as you attempt to connect more light bulbs or resistors using more wires that tend to tangle and disconnect at inconvenient times. In the article I read, it explains a solution to this problem and a revolution in the way we create circuits. It introduces a pen that can act as a wire when its ink dries. The ink is made of silver conductive particles that allow the current to flow. Therefore, you can draw fully functioning circuits on flexible paper.
Imagine the benefits this could bring to a learning environment. Students could experiment in a much more efficient and visual way. The circuits that could be created with this pen would more accurately represent the circuit diagrams that we study. Instead of drawing lines to represent wires, the “wire” could very literally be a line, and the lines can be drawn in a much more structured and organized fashion. Labs could be conducted using this pen. Imagine a lab that would test the effect that the thickness of the wire/resistor would have on the brightness of a bulb. It would be easy and convenient to test this question by simply drawing a thicker line. It could then be concluded that the thicker line allows more current to flow which causes an increase in power because they are directly related. This would result in an increase in the brightness of the bulb with a thicker line drawn. This pen could be used not only for education, but also for fun. Imagine giving your friend a card that lights up for her birthday or creating complex art projects with the pen. Here is an example of a fascinating art piece created using this pen.
