0:00:01.135,0:00:05.254
When I waltzed off to high school[br]with my new Nokia phone,

0:00:05.278,0:00:07.699
I thought I just had the new,[br]coolest replacement

0:00:07.723,0:00:09.943
for my old pink princess walkie-talkie.

0:00:10.704,0:00:14.561
Except now, my friends and I[br]could text or talk to each other

0:00:14.585,0:00:15.823
wherever we were,

0:00:15.847,0:00:16.999
instead of pretending,

0:00:17.023,0:00:19.704
when we were running around[br]each other's back yards.

0:00:20.403,0:00:21.553
Now, be honest.

0:00:22.165,0:00:25.863
Back then, I didn't think a lot[br]about how these devices were made.

0:00:26.466,0:00:28.799
They tended to show up[br]on Christmas morning,

0:00:28.823,0:00:32.101
so maybe they were made[br]by the elves in Santa's workshop.

0:00:32.871,0:00:34.604
Let me ask you a question.

0:00:35.037,0:00:38.617
Who do you think the real elves[br]that make these devices are?

0:00:39.331,0:00:41.474
If I ask a lot of the people I know,

0:00:41.498,0:00:45.144
they would say it's the hoodie-wearing[br]software engineers in Silicon Valley,

0:00:45.168,0:00:46.568
hacking away a code.

0:00:47.815,0:00:49.752
But a lot has to happen to these devices

0:00:49.776,0:00:52.101
before they're ready for any kind of code.

0:00:52.125,0:00:55.085
These devices start at the atomic level.

0:00:55.657,0:00:57.347
So if you ask me,

0:00:57.371,0:00:59.944
the real elves are the chemists.

0:01:00.863,0:01:03.130
That's right, I said the chemists.

0:01:03.982,0:01:07.648
Chemistry is the hero[br]of electronic communications.

0:01:08.188,0:01:10.974
And my goal today is to convince you

0:01:10.998,0:01:12.148
to agree with me.

0:01:13.680,0:01:15.545
OK, let's start simple,

0:01:15.569,0:01:19.636
and take a look inside these[br]insanely addictive devices.

0:01:20.034,0:01:22.049
Because without chemistry,

0:01:22.073,0:01:25.970
what is an information[br]superhighway that we love,

0:01:25.994,0:01:29.295
would just be a really expensive,[br]shiny paperweight.

0:01:30.727,0:01:33.261
Chemistry enables all of these layers.

0:01:34.180,0:01:35.980
Let's start at the display.

0:01:36.378,0:01:38.926
How do you think we get[br]those bright, vivid colors

0:01:38.950,0:01:40.529
that we love so much?

0:01:41.157,0:01:42.434
Well, I'll tell you.

0:01:42.458,0:01:45.260
There's organic polymers[br]embedded within the display,

0:01:45.284,0:01:49.466
that can take electricity and turn it[br]into the blue, red and green

0:01:49.490,0:01:51.490
that we enjoy in our pictures.

0:01:52.760,0:01:54.972
What if we move down to the battery?

0:01:54.996,0:01:56.956
Now there's some intense research.

0:01:57.329,0:02:01.170
How do we take the chemical principles[br]of traditional batteries

0:02:01.194,0:02:04.617
and pair it with new,[br]high surface area electrodes,

0:02:04.641,0:02:08.268
so we could pack more charge[br]in a smaller footprint of space,

0:02:08.292,0:02:10.658
so that we could power[br]our devices all day long,

0:02:10.682,0:02:12.331
while we're taking selfies,

0:02:12.355,0:02:14.307
without having to recharge our batteries

0:02:14.331,0:02:16.565
or sit tethered to an electrical outlet.

0:02:18.117,0:02:21.641
What if we go to the adhesives[br]that bind it all together,

0:02:21.665,0:02:24.506
so that it could withstand[br]our frequent usage?

0:02:24.530,0:02:26.502
After all, as a millennial,

0:02:26.526,0:02:30.462
I have to take my phone out[br]at least 200 times a day to check it,

0:02:30.486,0:02:33.331
and in the process,[br]drop it two to three times.

0:02:36.021,0:02:38.243
But what are the real brains[br]of these devices?

0:02:38.267,0:02:41.461
What makes them work[br]the way that we love them so much?

0:02:42.092,0:02:45.204
Well that all has to do[br]with electrical components and circuitry

0:02:45.228,0:02:47.973
that are tethered[br]to a printed circuit board.

0:02:48.649,0:02:51.164
Or maybe you prefer a biological metaphor,

0:02:51.188,0:02:53.399
the motherboard,[br]you might have heard of that.

0:02:55.013,0:02:58.290
Now, the printed circuit board[br]doesn't really get talked about a lot.

0:02:58.314,0:03:00.561
And I'll be honest,[br]I don't know why that is.

0:03:00.585,0:03:02.822
Maybe it's because[br]it's the least sexy layer

0:03:02.846,0:03:06.093
and it's hidden beneath all of those[br]other sleek-looking layers.

0:03:06.538,0:03:09.846
But it's time to finally give this[br]Clark Kent layer

0:03:09.870,0:03:12.878
the Superman-worthy praise it deserves.

0:03:13.665,0:03:15.531
And so I ask you a question.

0:03:16.220,0:03:18.886
What do you think[br]a printed circuit board is?

0:03:19.506,0:03:21.173
Well, consider a metaphor.

0:03:21.609,0:03:23.871
Think about the city that you live in.

0:03:23.895,0:03:27.188
You have all these points of interest[br]that you want to get to:

0:03:27.212,0:03:30.101
your home, your work, restaurants,

0:03:30.125,0:03:32.361
a couple of Starbucks on every block.

0:03:33.229,0:03:36.466
And so we build roads[br]that connect them all together.

0:03:37.832,0:03:40.038
That's what a printed circuit board is.

0:03:40.372,0:03:43.125
Except, instead of having[br]things like restaurants,

0:03:43.149,0:03:46.926
we have transistors on chips,

0:03:46.950,0:03:48.283
capacitors, resistors,

0:03:48.307,0:03:50.759
all of these electrical components

0:03:50.783,0:03:53.613
that need to find a way[br]to talk to each other.

0:03:54.012,0:03:55.745
And so what are our roads?

0:03:56.663,0:03:59.424
Well, we build tiny copper wires.

0:04:00.671,0:04:01.900
So the next question is,

0:04:01.924,0:04:04.244
how do we make these tiny copper wires?

0:04:04.268,0:04:05.577
They're really small.

0:04:05.919,0:04:08.379
Could it be that we go[br]to the hardware store,

0:04:08.403,0:04:10.411
pick up a spool of copper wire,

0:04:10.435,0:04:13.387
get some wire cutters, a little clip-clip,

0:04:13.411,0:04:16.800
saw it all up and then, bam --[br]we have our printed circuit board?

0:04:17.990,0:04:19.156
No way.

0:04:19.180,0:04:21.736
These wires are way too small for that.

0:04:21.760,0:04:25.390
And so we have to rely[br]on our friend, chemistry.

0:04:26.720,0:04:29.803
Now, the chemical process[br]to make these tiny copper wires

0:04:29.827,0:04:31.161
is seemingly simple.

0:04:31.891,0:04:33.660
We start with a solution

0:04:33.684,0:04:36.533
of positively charged copper spheres.

0:04:37.097,0:04:41.057
We then add to it an insulating[br]printed circuit board.

0:04:41.522,0:04:44.926
And we feed those[br]positively charged spheres

0:04:44.950,0:04:46.728
negatively charged electrons,

0:04:46.752,0:04:49.141
by adding formaldehyde to the mix.

0:04:49.165,0:04:50.871
So you might remember formaldehyde.

0:04:50.895,0:04:52.736
Really distinct odor,

0:04:52.760,0:04:55.561
used to preserve frogs in biology class.

0:04:56.069,0:04:58.831
Well it turns out it can do[br]a lot more than just that.

0:04:58.855,0:05:00.923
And it's a really key component

0:05:00.947,0:05:03.213
to making these tiny copper wires.

0:05:04.204,0:05:07.577
You see, the electrons[br]on formaldehyde have a drive.

0:05:07.601,0:05:11.394
They want to jump over to those[br]positively charged copper spheres.

0:05:12.514,0:05:16.109
And that's all because of a process[br]known as redox chemistry.

0:05:16.808,0:05:18.014
And when that happens,

0:05:18.038,0:05:21.776
we can take these positively[br]charged copper spheres,

0:05:21.800,0:05:24.213
and turn them into bright,

0:05:24.237,0:05:28.240
shiny, metallic and conductive copper.

0:05:28.719,0:05:30.917
And once we have conductive copper,

0:05:30.941,0:05:32.441
now we're cooking with gas.

0:05:32.465,0:05:34.783
And we can get all[br]of those electrical components

0:05:34.807,0:05:35.996
to talk to each other.

0:05:36.020,0:05:38.487
So thank you once again to chemistry.

0:05:39.574,0:05:41.225
And let's take a thought

0:05:41.249,0:05:44.342
and think about how far[br]we've come with chemistry.

0:05:45.582,0:05:48.257
Clearly, in electronic communications,

0:05:48.281,0:05:49.431
size matters.

0:05:49.982,0:05:53.426
So let's think about[br]how we can shrink down our devices.

0:05:53.450,0:05:57.006
So that we can go from our 1990s[br]Zack Morris cell phone,

0:05:57.030,0:05:58.910
to something a little bit more sleek,

0:05:58.934,0:06:01.950
like the phones of today[br]that can fit in our pockets.

0:06:01.974,0:06:03.482
Although, let's be real here:

0:06:03.506,0:06:07.371
absolutely nothing can fit[br]into ladies' pants pockets,

0:06:07.395,0:06:10.371
if you can find a pair of pants[br]that has pockets.

0:06:10.395,0:06:11.410
(Laughter)

0:06:11.434,0:06:14.544
And, I don't think chemistry[br]can help us with that problem.

0:06:16.831,0:06:20.062
But more important[br]that shrinking the actual device,

0:06:20.086,0:06:22.482
how do we shrink[br]the circuitry inside of it,

0:06:22.506,0:06:24.442
and shrink it by 100 times,

0:06:24.466,0:06:27.831
so that we can take the circuitry[br]from the micron scale

0:06:27.855,0:06:30.132
all the way down to the nanometer scale?

0:06:30.831,0:06:32.014
Because, let's face it,

0:06:32.038,0:06:35.331
right now we all want more powerful[br]and faster phones.

0:06:35.768,0:06:39.929
Well, more power and faster[br]requires more circuitry.

0:06:41.339,0:06:42.739
So how do we do this?

0:06:43.062,0:06:46.768
It's not like we have some magic[br]electromagnetic shrink ray,

0:06:46.792,0:06:49.853
like professor Wayne Szalinsky used[br]in "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids"

0:06:49.877,0:06:51.208
to shrink his children.

0:06:51.232,0:06:52.765
On accident, of course.

0:06:53.792,0:06:54.942
Or do we?

0:06:55.950,0:06:57.720
Well, actually, in the field,

0:06:57.744,0:07:00.124
there's a process[br]that's pretty similar to that.

0:07:00.482,0:07:02.682
And it's name is photolitography.

0:07:03.434,0:07:06.750
In photolitography,[br]we take electromagnetic radiation,

0:07:06.774,0:07:08.752
or what we tend to call light,

0:07:08.776,0:07:11.427
and we use it to shrink down[br]some of that circuitry,

0:07:11.451,0:07:15.122
so that we could cram more of it[br]into a really small space.

0:07:17.583,0:07:19.183
Now, how does this work?

0:07:19.995,0:07:21.948
Well, we start with a substrate

0:07:21.972,0:07:24.404
that has a light sensitive film on it.

0:07:24.912,0:07:28.475
We then cover it with a mask[br]that has a pattern on top of it

0:07:28.499,0:07:30.063
of fine lines and features,

0:07:30.087,0:07:33.293
that are going to make the phone work[br]the way that we want it to.

0:07:33.896,0:07:37.626
We then expose a bright light[br]and shine it through this mask,

0:07:37.650,0:07:40.941
which creates a shadow[br]of that pattern on the surface.

0:07:41.862,0:07:44.814
Now, anywhere that the light[br]can get through the mask,

0:07:44.838,0:07:48.102
it's going to cause[br]a chemical reaction to occur.

0:07:48.126,0:07:51.912
And that's going to burn the image[br]of that pattern into the substrate.

0:07:52.698,0:07:54.817
So the question you're probably asking is,

0:07:54.841,0:07:56.776
how do we go from a burned image

0:07:56.800,0:07:59.228
to clean fine lines and features?

0:07:59.871,0:08:02.490
And for that, we have to use[br]a chemical solution

0:08:02.514,0:08:04.117
called the developer.

0:08:04.141,0:08:05.751
Now the developer is special.

0:08:06.180,0:08:09.719
What it can do is take[br]all of the nonexposed areas

0:08:09.743,0:08:11.695
and remove them selectively,

0:08:11.719,0:08:14.647
leaving behind clean[br]fine lines and features,

0:08:14.671,0:08:17.254
and making our miniaturized devices work.

0:08:18.417,0:08:22.109
So, we've used chemistry now[br]to build up our devices,

0:08:22.133,0:08:25.200
and we've used it[br]to shrink down our devices.

0:08:25.507,0:08:28.688
So I've probably convinced you[br]that chemistry is the true hero,

0:08:28.712,0:08:30.259
and we could wrap it up there.

0:08:30.714,0:08:31.849
(Applause)

0:08:31.873,0:08:33.397
Hold on, we're not done.

0:08:33.421,0:08:34.571
Not so fast.

0:08:35.135,0:08:36.873
Because, we're all human.

0:08:36.897,0:08:39.230
And as a human, I always want more.

0:08:39.556,0:08:42.216
And so now I want to think[br]about how to use chemistry

0:08:42.240,0:08:44.494
to extract more out of a device.

0:08:45.833,0:08:49.825
Right now, we're being told[br]that we want something called 5G,

0:08:49.849,0:08:52.915
or the promised[br]fifth generation of wireless.

0:08:53.455,0:08:55.550
Now, you might have heard of 5G

0:08:55.574,0:08:58.169
in commercials[br]that are starting to appear.

0:08:58.725,0:09:00.677
Or maybe some of you even experienced it

0:09:00.701,0:09:02.875
in the 2018 winter Olympics.

0:09:03.863,0:09:06.220
What I'm most excited about for 5G

0:09:06.244,0:09:09.926
is that, when I'm late,[br]running out of the house to catch a plane,

0:09:09.950,0:09:13.086
I can download movies[br]onto my device in 40 seconds

0:09:13.110,0:09:14.777
as opposed to 40 minutes.

0:09:16.014,0:09:17.800
But once true 5G is here,

0:09:17.824,0:09:20.097
it's going to be a lot more[br]than how many movies

0:09:20.121,0:09:21.787
we can put on our device.

0:09:22.442,0:09:25.442
So the question is,[br]why is true 5G not here?

0:09:26.395,0:09:28.331
And I'll let you in on a little secret.

0:09:28.355,0:09:30.155
It's pretty easy to answer.

0:09:30.903,0:09:32.703
It's just plain hard to do.

0:09:33.839,0:09:36.664
You see, if you used[br]those traditional materials and copper

0:09:36.688,0:09:38.586
to build 5G devices,

0:09:38.610,0:09:42.010
the signal can't make it[br]to its final destination.

0:09:43.823,0:09:48.363
Traditionally, we use really rough[br]insulating layers

0:09:48.387,0:09:50.339
to support copper wires.

0:09:50.919,0:09:52.974
Think about Velcro fasteners.

0:09:52.998,0:09:56.982
It's the roughness of the two pieces[br]that make them stick together.

0:09:58.188,0:10:00.630
That's pretty important[br]if you want to have a device

0:10:00.654,0:10:01.979
that's going to last longer

0:10:02.003,0:10:04.012
than it takes you to rip it out of the box

0:10:04.036,0:10:06.099
and start installing[br]all of your apps on it.

0:10:07.236,0:10:09.529
But this roughness causes a problem.

0:10:09.942,0:10:13.403
You see, at the high speeds for 5G

0:10:13.427,0:10:16.760
the signal has to travel[br]close to that roughness.

0:10:17.220,0:10:20.999
And it makes it get lost[br]before it reaches its final destination.

0:10:22.252,0:10:24.029
Think about a mountain range.

0:10:24.053,0:10:27.160
And you have a complex system of roads[br]that goes up and over it.

0:10:27.538,0:10:29.796
And you're trying[br]to get to the other side.

0:10:30.273,0:10:31.463
Don't you agree with me

0:10:31.487,0:10:34.971
that it would probably take[br]a really long time,

0:10:34.995,0:10:37.059
and you would probably get lost,

0:10:37.083,0:10:39.712
if you had to go up and down[br]all of the mountains,

0:10:39.736,0:10:42.161
as opposed to if you just[br]drilled a flat tunnel

0:10:42.185,0:10:44.318
that could go straight on through?

0:10:44.640,0:10:47.299
Well it's the same thing[br]in out 5G devices.

0:10:47.323,0:10:49.664
If we could remove this roughness,

0:10:49.688,0:10:51.577
then we can send the 5G signal

0:10:51.601,0:10:53.601
straight on through uninterrupted.

0:10:53.625,0:10:55.292
Sounds pretty good, right?

0:10:55.792,0:10:56.958
But hold on.

0:10:56.982,0:10:59.442
Didn't I just tell you[br]that we needed that roughness

0:10:59.466,0:11:00.815
to keep the device together?

0:11:00.839,0:11:02.045
And if we remove it,

0:11:02.069,0:11:04.030
we're in a situation where now the copper

0:11:04.054,0:11:06.609
isn't going to stick[br]to that underlying substrate.

0:11:07.592,0:11:10.433
Think about building[br]a house of Lego blocks,

0:11:10.457,0:11:14.687
with all of the nooks and crannies[br]that latch together,

0:11:14.711,0:11:17.363
as opposed to smooth building blocks.

0:11:17.387,0:11:20.704
Which of the two is going to have[br]more structural integrity

0:11:20.728,0:11:23.545
when the two-year-old comes[br]ripping through the living room,

0:11:23.569,0:11:26.772
trying to play Godzilla[br]and knock everything down?

0:11:27.355,0:11:30.259
But what if we put glue[br]on those smooth blocks?

0:11:31.125,0:11:33.862
And that's what[br]the industry is waiting for.

0:11:33.886,0:11:36.990
They're waiting for the chemists[br]to design new, smooth surfaces

0:11:37.014,0:11:39.498
with increased inherent adhesion

0:11:39.522,0:11:41.588
for some of those copper wires.

0:11:42.458,0:11:43.942
And when we solve this problem,

0:11:43.966,0:11:45.653
and we will solve the problem,

0:11:45.677,0:11:47.875
and we'll work[br]with physicists and engineers

0:11:47.899,0:11:51.106
to solve all of the challenges of 5G,

0:11:51.130,0:11:54.208
well then the number of applications[br]is going to skyrocket.

0:11:54.606,0:11:57.533
So yeah, we'll have things[br]like self-driving cars,

0:11:57.557,0:12:01.173
because now our data networks[br]can handle the speeds

0:12:01.197,0:12:03.969
and the amount of information[br]required to make that work.

0:12:04.684,0:12:07.017
But let's start to use imagination.

0:12:07.521,0:12:11.683
I can imagine going into a restaurant[br]with a friend that has a peanut allergy,

0:12:11.707,0:12:13.444
taking out my phone,

0:12:13.468,0:12:14.833
waving it over the food,

0:12:14.857,0:12:17.071
and having the food tell us

0:12:17.095,0:12:20.302
a really important answer to a question --

0:12:20.326,0:12:23.236
deadly or safe to consume?

0:12:23.859,0:12:26.835
Or maybe our devices will get so good

0:12:26.859,0:12:29.898
at processing information about us,

0:12:29.922,0:12:32.525
that they'll become[br]like our personal trainers.

0:12:32.927,0:12:36.204
And they'll know the most efficient way[br]for us to burn calories.

0:12:36.228,0:12:37.498
I know come November,

0:12:37.522,0:12:40.291
when I'm trying to burn off[br]some of these pregnancy pounds,

0:12:40.315,0:12:43.228
I would love a device[br]that could tell me how to do that.

0:12:44.538,0:12:46.974
I really don't know[br]another way of saying it,

0:12:46.998,0:12:49.149
except chemistry is just cool.

0:12:49.173,0:12:52.306
And it enables all of these[br]electronic devices.

0:12:53.061,0:12:57.006
So the next time you send a text[br]or take a selfie,

0:12:57.030,0:12:59.561
think about all those atoms[br]that are hard at work

0:12:59.585,0:13:02.319
and the innovation that came before them.

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Who knows,

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maybe even some of you[br]listening to this talk,

0:13:06.617,0:13:08.704
perhaps even on your mobile device,

0:13:08.728,0:13:11.141
will decide that you too[br]want to play sidekick

0:13:11.165,0:13:12.476
to Captain Chemistry,

0:13:12.500,0:13:15.913
the true hero of electronic devices.

0:13:16.333,0:13:17.952
Thank you for your attention,

0:13:17.976,0:13:19.577
and thank you chemistry.

0:13:19.601,0:13:22.626
(Applause)