Quantum physics drives pressure sensitive touchscreen

It might not be long before the pressure you’re putting on your mobile’s touchscreen, or navigation keys, can be registered.

So, for example, pressing harder when on a web page makes it scroll down faster – and the firmer your touch, the faster the scrolling.

This is thanks to technology that uses quantum physics, which has been developed by a UK firm called Peratech.

The material used to manufacture such a touchscreen is called “Quantum Tunnelling Composite” or QTC for short.

QTC works by using tiny conducting nano-particles in the material, which get closer together when it’s pressed down and deformed, increasing the probability that they will undergo a quantum physics effect known as tunnelling.

In layman’s terms, the harder you press, the more the current increases, which can be measured and translated into scrolling or whichever appropriate function.

It’s clever sounding stuff indeed, and according to the BBC, a division of Samsung that provides several mobile manufacturers with components has signed up to use QTC.