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Cathy Mulzer: The incredible chemistry powering your smartphone
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Ever wondered how your smartphone works? Take a journey down to the atomic level with scientist Cathy Mulzer, who reveals how almost every component of our high-powered devices exists thanks to chemists -- and not the Silicon Valley entrepreneurs that come to most people's minds. As she puts it: "Chemistry is the hero of electronic communications."
Cathy Mulzer - Electrochemist
Cathy Mulzer works on the next generation of materials for all those electronic devices you love: your phone, your TV, your electric car. Full bio
Cathy Mulzer works on the next generation of materials for all those electronic devices you love: your phone, your TV, your electric car. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:13
When I waltzed off to high school
with my new Nokia phone,
with my new Nokia phone,
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I thought I just had
the new, coolest replacement
the new, coolest replacement
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for my old pink princess walkie-talkie.
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Except now, my friends and I
could text or talk to each other
could text or talk to each other
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wherever we were,
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instead of pretending,
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when we were running around
each other's backyards.
each other's backyards.
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Now, I'll be honest.
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Back then, I didn't think a lot
about how these devices were made.
about how these devices were made.
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They tended to show up
on Christmas morning,
on Christmas morning,
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so maybe they were made
by the elves in Santa's workshop.
by the elves in Santa's workshop.
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Let me ask you a question.
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Who do you think the real elves
that make these devices are?
that make these devices are?
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If I ask a lot of the people I know,
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they would say it's the hoodie-wearing
software engineers in Silicon Valley,
software engineers in Silicon Valley,
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hacking away at code.
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But a lot has to happen to these devices
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before they're ready for any kind of code.
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These devices start at the atomic level.
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So if you ask me,
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the real elves are the chemists.
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That's right, I said the chemists.
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Chemistry is the hero
of electronic communications.
of electronic communications.
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And my goal today is to convince you
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to agree with me.
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OK, let's start simple,
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and take a look inside
these insanely addictive devices.
these insanely addictive devices.
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Because without chemistry,
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what is an information
superhighway that we love,
superhighway that we love,
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would just be a really expensive,
shiny paperweight.
shiny paperweight.
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Chemistry enables all of these layers.
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Let's start at the display.
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How do you think we get
those bright, vivid colors
those bright, vivid colors
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that we love so much?
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Well, I'll tell you.
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There's organic polymers
embedded within the display,
embedded within the display,
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that can take electricity
and turn it into the blue, red and green
and turn it into the blue, red and green
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that we enjoy in our pictures.
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What if we move down to the battery?
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Now there's some intense research.
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How do we take the chemical principles
of traditional batteries
of traditional batteries
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and pair it with new,
high surface area electrodes,
high surface area electrodes,
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so we can pack more charge
in a smaller footprint of space,
in a smaller footprint of space,
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so that we could power
our devices all day long,
our devices all day long,
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while we're taking selfies,
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without having to recharge our batteries
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or sit tethered to an electrical outlet?
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What if we go to the adhesives
that bind it all together,
that bind it all together,
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so that it could withstand
our frequent usage?
our frequent usage?
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After all, as a millennial,
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I have to take my phone out
at least 200 times a day to check it,
at least 200 times a day to check it,
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and in the process,
drop it two to three times.
drop it two to three times.
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But what are the real brains
of these devices?
of these devices?
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What makes them work
the way that we love them so much?
the way that we love them so much?
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Well that all has to do
with electrical components and circuitry
with electrical components and circuitry
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that are tethered
to a printed circuit board.
to a printed circuit board.
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03:00
Or maybe you prefer a biological metaphor --
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the motherboard,
you might have heard of that.
you might have heard of that.
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03:07
Now, the printed circuit board
doesn't really get talked about a lot.
doesn't really get talked about a lot.
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03:10
And I'll be honest,
I don't know why that is.
I don't know why that is.
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Maybe it's because
it's the least sexy layer
it's the least sexy layer
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and it's hidden beneath all of those
other sleek-looking layers.
other sleek-looking layers.
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But it's time to finally give this
Clark Kent layer
Clark Kent layer
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the Superman-worthy praise it deserves.
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And so I ask you a question.
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What do you think
a printed circuit board is?
a printed circuit board is?
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Well, consider a metaphor.
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Think about the city that you live in.
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You have all these points of interest
that you want to get to:
that you want to get to:
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your home, your work, restaurants,
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a couple of Starbucks on every block.
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And so we build roads
that connect them all together.
that connect them all together.
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That's what a printed circuit board is.
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Except, instead of having
things like restaurants,
things like restaurants,
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we have transistors on chips,
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capacitors, resistors,
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all of these electrical components
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that need to find a way
to talk to each other.
to talk to each other.
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And so what are our roads?
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Well, we build tiny copper wires.
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So the next question is,
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how do we make these tiny copper wires?
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They're really small.
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Could it be that we go
to the hardware store,
to the hardware store,
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pick up a spool of copper wire,
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get some wire cutters, a little clip-clip,
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saw it all up and then, bam --
we have our printed circuit board?
we have our printed circuit board?
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No way.
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These wires are way too small for that.
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04:33
And so we have to rely
on our friend: chemistry.
on our friend: chemistry.
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Now, the chemical process
to make these tiny copper wires
to make these tiny copper wires
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is seemingly simple.
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We start with a solution
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of positively charged copper spheres.
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We then add to it an insulating
printed circuit board.
printed circuit board.
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And we feed those
positively charged spheres
positively charged spheres
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negatively charged electrons
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by adding formaldehyde to the mix.
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So you might remember formaldehyde.
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Really distinct odor,
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used to preserve frogs in biology class.
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Well it turns out it can do
a lot more than just that.
a lot more than just that.
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And it's a really key component
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to making these tiny copper wires.
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You see, the electrons
on formaldehyde have a drive.
on formaldehyde have a drive.
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They want to jump over to those
positively charged copper spheres.
positively charged copper spheres.
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And that's all because of a process
known as redox chemistry.
known as redox chemistry.
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And when that happens,
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we can take these positively
charged copper spheres
charged copper spheres
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and turn them into bright,
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shiny, metallic and conductive copper.
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And once we have conductive copper,
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now we're cooking with gas.
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And we can get all
of those electrical components
of those electrical components
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to talk to each other.
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So thank you once again to chemistry.
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And let's take a thought
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and think about how far
we've come with chemistry.
we've come with chemistry.
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Clearly, in electronic communications,
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size matters.
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So let's think about
how we can shrink down our devices,
how we can shrink down our devices,
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so that we can go from our 1990s
Zack Morris cell phone
Zack Morris cell phone
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to something a little bit more sleek,
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like the phones of today
that can fit in our pockets.
that can fit in our pockets.
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Although, let's be real here:
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absolutely nothing can fit
into ladies' pants pockets,
into ladies' pants pockets,
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if you can find a pair of pants
that has pockets.
that has pockets.
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(Laughter)
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And I don't think chemistry
can help us with that problem.
can help us with that problem.
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But more important
than shrinking the actual device,
than shrinking the actual device,
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how do we shrink
the circuitry inside of it,
the circuitry inside of it,
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and shrink it by 100 times,
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so that we can take the circuitry
from the micron scale
from the micron scale
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all the way down to the nanometer scale?
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Because, let's face it,
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right now we all want
more powerful and faster phones.
more powerful and faster phones.
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Well, more power and faster
requires more circuitry.
requires more circuitry.
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So how do we do this?
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It's not like we have some magic
electromagnetic shrink ray,
electromagnetic shrink ray,
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like professor Wayne Szalinski used
in "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids"
in "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids"
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to shrink his children.
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On accident, of course.
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Or do we?
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Well, actually, in the field,
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there's a process
that's pretty similar to that.
that's pretty similar to that.
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And it's name is photolithography.
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In photolithography,
we take electromagnetic radiation,
we take electromagnetic radiation,
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or what we tend to call light,
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and we use it to shrink down
some of that circuitry,
some of that circuitry,
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so that we could cram more of it
into a really small space.
into a really small space.
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Now, how does this work?
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Well, we start with a substrate
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that has a light-sensitive film on it.
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We then cover it with a mask
that has a pattern on top of it
that has a pattern on top of it
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of fine lines and features
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that are going to make the phone work
the way that we want it to.
the way that we want it to.
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We then expose a bright light
and shine it through this mask,
and shine it through this mask,
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which creates a shadow
of that pattern on the surface.
of that pattern on the surface.
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Now, anywhere that the light
can get through the mask,
can get through the mask,
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it's going to cause
a chemical reaction to occur.
a chemical reaction to occur.
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And that's going to burn the image
of that pattern into the substrate.
of that pattern into the substrate.
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So the question you're probably asking is,
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how do we go from a burned image
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to clean fine lines and features?
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And for that, we have to use
a chemical solution
a chemical solution
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called the developer.
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Now the developer is special.
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What it can do is take
all of the nonexposed areas
all of the nonexposed areas
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and remove them selectively,
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leaving behind clean
fine lines and features,
fine lines and features,
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and making our miniaturized devices work.
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So, we've used chemistry now
to build up our devices,
to build up our devices,
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and we've used it
to shrink down our devices.
to shrink down our devices.
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So I've probably convinced you
that chemistry is the true hero,
that chemistry is the true hero,
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and we could wrap it up there.
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(Applause)
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Hold on, we're not done.
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Not so fast.
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Because we're all human.
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And as a human, I always want more.
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And so now I want to think
about how to use chemistry
about how to use chemistry
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to extract more out of a device.
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Right now, we're being told
that we want something called 5G,
that we want something called 5G,
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or the promised
fifth generation of wireless.
fifth generation of wireless.
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Now, you might have heard of 5G
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in commercials
that are starting to appear.
that are starting to appear.
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Or maybe some of you even experienced it
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in the 2018 winter Olympics.
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What I'm most excited about for 5G
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is that, when I'm late,
running out of the house to catch a plane,
running out of the house to catch a plane,
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I can download movies
onto my device in 40 seconds
onto my device in 40 seconds
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as opposed to 40 minutes.
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But once true 5G is here,
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it's going to be a lot more
than how many movies
than how many movies
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we can put on our device.
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So the question is,
why is true 5G not here?
why is true 5G not here?
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And I'll let you in on a little secret.
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It's pretty easy to answer.
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It's just plain hard to do.
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You see, if you use
those traditional materials and copper
those traditional materials and copper
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to build 5G devices,
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the signal can't make it
to its final destination.
to its final destination.
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Traditionally, we use
really rough insulating layers
really rough insulating layers
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to support copper wires.
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Think about Velcro fasteners.
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It's the roughness of the two pieces
that make them stick together.
that make them stick together.
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That's pretty important
if you want to have a device
if you want to have a device
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that's going to last longer
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than it takes you to rip it out of the box
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and start installing
all of your apps on it.
all of your apps on it.
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But this roughness causes a problem.
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You see, at the high speeds for 5G
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the signal has to travel
close to that roughness.
close to that roughness.
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And it makes it get lost
before it reaches its final destination.
before it reaches its final destination.
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Think about a mountain range.
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And you have a complex system of roads
that goes up and over it,
that goes up and over it,
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and you're trying
to get to the other side.
to get to the other side.
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Don't you agree with me
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that it would probably take
a really long time,
a really long time,
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and you would probably get lost,
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if you had to go up and down
all of the mountains,
all of the mountains,
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as opposed to if you just
drilled a flat tunnel
drilled a flat tunnel
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that could go straight on through?
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Well it's the same thing
in our 5G devices.
in our 5G devices.
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If we could remove this roughness,
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then we can send the 5G signal
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straight on through uninterrupted.
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Sounds pretty good, right?
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But hold on.
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Didn't I just tell you
that we needed that roughness
that we needed that roughness
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to keep the device together?
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And if we remove it,
we're in a situation where now the copper
we're in a situation where now the copper
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isn't going to stick
to that underlying substrate.
to that underlying substrate.
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Think about building
a house of Lego blocks,
a house of Lego blocks,
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with all of the nooks and crannies
that latch together,
that latch together,
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as opposed to smooth building blocks.
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Which of the two is going to have
more structural integrity
more structural integrity
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when the two-year-old comes
ripping through the living room,
ripping through the living room,
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trying to play Godzilla
and knock everything down?
and knock everything down?
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But what if we put glue
on those smooth blocks?
on those smooth blocks?
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And that's what
the industry is waiting for.
the industry is waiting for.
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They're waiting for the chemists
to design new, smooth surfaces
to design new, smooth surfaces
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with increased inherent adhesion
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for some of those copper wires.
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And when we solve this problem,
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and we will solve the problem,
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and we'll work
with physicists and engineers
with physicists and engineers
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to solve all of the challenges of 5G,
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well then the number of applications
is going to skyrocket.
is going to skyrocket.
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So yeah, we'll have things
like self-driving cars,
like self-driving cars,
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because now our data networks
can handle the speeds
can handle the speeds
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and the amount of information
required to make that work.
required to make that work.
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But let's start to use imagination.
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I can imagine going into a restaurant
with a friend that has a peanut allergy,
with a friend that has a peanut allergy,
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taking out my phone,
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waving it over the food
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and having the food tell us
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a really important answer to a question --
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deadly or safe to consume?
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Or maybe our devices will get so good
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at processing information about us,
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that they'll become
like our personal trainers.
like our personal trainers.
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And they'll know the most efficient way
for us to burn calories.
for us to burn calories.
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I know come November,
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when I'm trying to burn off
some of these pregnancy pounds,
some of these pregnancy pounds,
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I would love a device
that could tell me how to do that.
that could tell me how to do that.
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I really don't know
another way of saying it,
another way of saying it,
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except chemistry is just cool.
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And it enables all of these
electronic devices.
electronic devices.
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So the next time you send a text
or take a selfie,
or take a selfie,
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think about all those atoms
that are hard at work
that are hard at work
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and the innovation that came before them.
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Who knows,
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maybe even some of you
listening to this talk,
listening to this talk,
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perhaps even on your mobile device,
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will decide that you too
want to play sidekick
want to play sidekick
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to Captain Chemistry,
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the true hero of electronic devices.
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Thank you for your attention,
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and thank you chemistry.
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(Applause)
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Cathy Mulzer - ElectrochemistCathy Mulzer works on the next generation of materials for all those electronic devices you love: your phone, your TV, your electric car.
Why you should listen
Early on during her educational years, Cathy Mulzer investigated one research topic in particular: How can we store even more energy in tinier spaces? As is often the case in research, it took several tries until the lightbulb of invention literally lit up for her -- which, in Mulzer's case, was an LED-bulb powered by special set of new organic polymer materials. Her scientific achievements were documented in several scientific publications, which were highlighted in the Cornell Chronicle in 2016. Her work was recognized with awards such as the DSM Science & Technology award in 2017, and she was named as one of 2018's "Talented 12" by the staff of Chemical & Engineering News.
As a senior scientist at DuPont’s Electronic & Imaging site in Marlborough, MA, Mulzer is part of a team that works in close collaboration with DuPont’s customers, seeking to innovate in material research and application to enable, for example, new sensors and sharper pictures in your smartphones. Moreover, Mulzer likes to engage in scientific discussions with the wider community -- through presentations and essays organized by the American Chemical Society, through seminars at her alma mater Marist College -- and also as part of outreach at local high schools to raise interest in scientific education.
Cathy Mulzer | Speaker | TED.com