The
Touch of a Finger
Possibly once again in the history of man, the touch of a finger
will not be just another trivial event. A simple touch may now
involve kilobytes of information being transferred. The age
of Personal Area Networks, PANs, is at hand.
PANs (6.0K)
The natural salinity of the human body makes it an excellent
conductor of electric charge. PAN technology takes advantage
of skin conductivity by creating an external electric field
that passes an incredibly tiny charge over the skin. As the
charge flows, it is able to carry digital information. Over
400,000 bits per second can be transmitted this way. Two PAN
users can shake hands and instantaneously exchange business
cards. People could carry digital versions of their medical
files for immediate access by emergency medical personnel. Calling
card numbers could automatically be sent from a wallet to a
pay phone with only the quick touch of a finger. There are many
potential applications for PAN technology.
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