Comments on: THE OVSHINSKY INVENTION (Feb, 1970)

By: Plaguewatcher

Plaguewatcher — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 04:09:46 +0000

Dear Ms English.
“Crystalline ones are currently more efficient than thin-film amorphous ones. ”
but if they are more than 5 times the cost,, then the picture changes. Also Mr O has produced a three layer version that takes advantage of wider ranges of wavelength. flexible too. Look em up

By: Randy Vaught

Randy Vaught — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 17:13:25 +0000

Actually, I’ve known Mr. Ovshinsky for 40 years and trust me, he’s the real article.

By: Firebrand38

Firebrand38 — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 21:57:57 +0000

Miriam English: Just come out and say BP Solar. Crystalline ones are currently more efficient than thin-film amorphous ones. Who exactly opposes immigration by refugees? Last I heard the US program is still ticking along. Trouble with that last argument is it can be used in the negative when children of refugees screw up as well.

By: Miriam English

Miriam English — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 21:43:02 +0000

He developed much of what became the light, flat, LCD screen you have in your laptop, along with the nickel metal hydride batteries that power it. He had success in producing cheap amorphous solar cells (I don’t understand why expensive crystalline ones marketed by the oil companies are the only ones you can buy anymore). He is one of the main movers trying to make the change to a hydrogen-powered economy, using hydrogen storage systems he developed. If you use re-writable CDs and DVDs, he developed those. His amorphous memory devices (the main focus of this article) exist and are in use today, though in my opinion under-utilised.

This guy is still up and running and has his eye firmly fixed on making the world a better place, unlike many who just want to bleed it of profits. He was entirely self-taught, yet a leader and innovator in many fields. He was the child of refugee immigrants to USA — something those opposing immigration of refugees might do well to remember.
Read more about him on Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_R._Ovshinsky

By: Marc

Marc — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 12:06:11 +0000

It was wrong to compare this invention to transistors. It would have been more honest to put that as another semi conductor invention that would work as well as transistor. So comparing that to transistor is a trap for simple minds… Who makes the public opinion. But what is a flat screen ? Just a transistor on a piece of glass.

By: MrG

MrG — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 16:21:37 +0000

Stanford Ovshinsky is actually fairly well-known if you’re into solid-state. His amorphous semiconductor devices worked perfectly well, though the transistors are slow. Most cheap (low efficiency) solar cells are amorphous silicon. Ovshinsky never conquered the planet, but he was a pioneer in the development of “alternate” solid-state technologies, with “plastic” transistors being a growth market for research. (Nobody expects them to replace silicon either, but unlike silicon, plastic circuits could be printed onto a cardboard box.) Cheers — MrG / http://www.vectorsite.net/gblog.html

By: Scott B.

Scott B. — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 15:17:25 +0000

Wow. This guy is my new hero. He should be more well-known! An inventor in the true American, bootstraps mold. Thanks for the link, Doug.

By: RagManX

RagManX — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 14:52:59 +0000

The article caught my interest right up to the claims of flat-screen televisions you could hang on your wall and computers you could wear on your wrist. That’s just crazy talk.

But dang, this is a cool little article. Wish I better understood all this talks about.

By: Doug

Doug — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 04:12:17 +0000

“…is this self-taught engineer a fraud as the big companies claim?”

Talk about making your critics eat their words!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_R._Ovshinsky