The average American checks their phone 150 times a week, and they don’t even have an iPhone. It’s not just the way we communicate that has changed; phones themselves are something very different from what they used to be. Smartphones today have many functions beyond making calls, sending texts, and checking email. In fact, most of us use our phones to take photos, stream music, access social media sites like Facebook and Instagram, play games, record video and much more. This article takes a look at all the amazing things your smartphone can do thanks to chemistry. We explore the role of science in your phone’s camera, microphone, speakers, battery and other features – along with how manufacturers achieve those results at an affordable price point – so you can geek out about it over happy hour with friends or family members.
The Camera: What’s Behind the Brightness, Colour and Resolution?
All of the major smartphone manufacturers use cameras made by a company called Sony. Those companies include Apple, Samsung, LG, Huawei, and even Google, which makes its own Pixel phones. Sony makes the sensors inside these cameras and the image processing software, too. Sony was an early pioneer in the use of these image sensors and the production of CMOS sensors. CMOS stands for complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor and it is used in most digital cameras today to capture and store an image, just like film in older cameras did. The sensors in these cameras get their brightness and colour by using an RGB filter, which is an approach that was introduced decades ago. The RGB colours represent the three primary colours needed to create the full spectrum of colour that our eyes can see. What makes these RGB filters special is that all three filters are made from a single piece of material. The colour filter is made from silicon, which is the main component in sand. The silicon is treated in different ways to produce either red, green or blue filters as needed.
Screen: How do they work?
The most important part of any smartphone is the screen. Without a screen, a phone isn’t much more than a brick. Fortunately, we have advanced technology that allows us to have large, bright screens in a tiny device. How do they work? A smartphone screen is made up of millions of tiny pixels. Each pixel is made up of two tiny red, green or blue light-emitting diodes (LEDs). When a pixel needs to be red, electricity travels through the LED and turns it on. This makes the pixel red. When electricity flows through the LED again, it turns off the pixel. This allows the pixel to be any colour in between red and black. The chemicals inside this LED are critical to its effectiveness. When electricity flows through the LED, it causes chemicals inside to travel between two electrodes. This releases photons (light particles) that are visible to the human eye. When the electricity stops flowing, the electrons go back to their original position, which stops the photons from being released. This process is repeated millions of times per second.
The Microphone: Why Are They So Good At Recording Audio?
Although audio is a secondary feature for most people when it comes to a smartphone, it’s still an important function for those who want to record concerts and sporting events, podcast, or even use the microphone as a voice-activated remote control for their TV. The primary mic in smartphones is usually the one used for answering and placing calls and it’s a basic MEMS or piezoelectric microphone. MEMS microphones have been around for decades and have very low noise compared to standard condenser microphones. They are also very small and they are used in smartphones, smart speakers, and almost all other audio devices, like Google Home, Amazon Echo, and Apple Homepod.
The Speakers: How Do They Sound So Good?
The speakers in smartphones are usually MEMS speakers, too, the same ones used in the microphones. Although smartphones have speakers on the front and back of the device, most people use the front speakers. That’s because the sound coming from the back speakers is reflected off of whatever surface the phone is resting on, creating a sound that is very muffled, and not nearly as loud as the sound from the front speaker. The speakers in a smartphone are both very tiny and very close together. It’s a design challenge that manufacturers work hard to overcome. Engineers use several different approaches to deal with this problem. One common technique is called “cascading,” where sound coming out of one speaker is used to drive the other speaker. Another approach is something called “acoustical coupling,” where the speakers are placed right next to each other so the sound is coupled together and travels through the air as one sound wave.
The Battery: Why Are Smartphone Batteries So Small?
While battery technology has evolved over the years, it hasn’t kept pace with the increase in power consumption of smartphones. The lithium-ion batteries used in smartphones are fairly recent. They have many advantages that have made them the battery of choice, including their light weight and ability to be recharged relatively easily. That said, lithium-ion batteries are not a perfect technology. They are still susceptible to catching fire if they are overcharged, used improperly, or are damaged in some way. All of the major smartphone manufacturers make their batteries in-house and have their own labs. In fact, many manufacturers have more than one lab because batteries are such a complicated part. It’s an incredibly difficult process to get the battery right and meet the standards set by international regulators. Each manufacturer has its own proprietary formula for the chemistry in its batteries, which is why they don’t all last the same amount of time.
Other Features: Fingerprint Scanners, Practice Software and More
Many smartphones have fingerprint scanners that are used for security and unlocking the phone, but they are also great for accessing certain apps. The fingerprint scanner that is used in Apple and Samsung phones is different than the fingerprint scanners that are used for authentication by law enforcement. It’s a capacitive sensor that uses a small electrical charge to determine if there’s a fingerprint there. Practice software can be installed on smartphones to help you improve your skills in many different areas. There are apps to help with foreign language skills, music skills, and even apps that help you practice mental exercises, like improving your memory or skills at critical thinking.
Final Thoughts
Phones have changed so much since the days of the rotary phone, but they are also very much the same, too. They are still a way for people to communicate with one another, they are just much faster, have better clarity and have the ability to go beyond just one conversation at a time. The phone has become so much more than that in today’s world, and it’s exciting to see what the future holds for them.
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