Photon Antennas 1

All this modern wireless communications stuff depends on antennas to broadcast and receive electromagnetic radiation. The simplest antenna is a straight wire. Radio engineers know that the most efficient straight-wire antennas are "full wavelength" -- that is, if the radio waves are 21 centimeters long (a microwave commonly associated with hydrogen molecules), the straight antenna should also be that long.

Well, visible light has a range of wavelengths from 390 nano- meters (violet) to 700 nano-meters (red). Modern semiconductor manufacturing processes are routinely drawing lines that are 1/10 that size and smaller.

So now let us imagine a new type of color display screen. It is a simple flat surface that has been ruled with a vast number of appropriately short antenna-lines. When the right frequency of signal is sent to any one of those antennas, it emits electromagnetic radiation just like your cell phone --except that you will be able to see the waves that get radiated, since they would be of visible-light frequency. Different frequencies and different antennas mean different colors are radiated, of course. And since antenna-radiance is a fairly efficient process, we should be able to get lots of light for minimal energy.

The only drawback, of course, and this is why this Idea is Half- Baked, is that we need our transmitters to generate the appropriate high-frequency signals. Visible-light frequencies range from 430 Terahertz for red light to 770 Terahertz for violet. Still, progress is being made; single-digit Terahertz radiation is getting commonly produced these days. So all we need do is wait for the inevitable future technical advancements, and this Photon Antenna display can become a reality.