Infochemistry and infofuses for the chemical storage and transmission of coded information.
This article describes a self-powered system that uses chemical reactions--the thermal excitation of alkali metals--to transmit coded alphanumeric information. The transmitter (an "infofuse") is a strip of the flammable polymer nitrocellulose patterned with alkali metal ions; this pattern encodes the information. The wavelengths of 2 consecutive pulses of light represent each alphanumeric character. While burning, infofuses transmit a sequence of pulses (at 5-20 Hz) of atomic emission that correspond to the sequence of metallic salts (and therefore to the encoded information). This system combines information technology and chemical reactions into a new area--"infochemistry"--that is the first step toward systems that combine sensing and transduction of chemical signals with multicolor transmission of alphanumeric information.
Thomas
Samuel W
SW
Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
Chiechi
Ryan C
RC
LaFratta
Christopher N
CN
Webb
Michael R
MR
Lee
Andrew
A
Wiley
Benjamin J
BJ
Zakin
Mitchell R
MR
Walt
David R
DR
Whitesides
George M
GM
D003101:Collodion / Q000737:chemistry*; D004247:DNA / Q000235:genetics; D004736:Energy-Generating Resources; D016247:Information Storage and Retrieval / Q000379:methods*; D008672:Metals, Alkali / Q000737:chemistry*; D013057:Spectrum Analysis
D008672:Metals, Alkali; D003101:Collodion; D004247:DNA