کتاب آینده

Chapter 3

THE BOOK OF THE FUTURE

Will people still read books 100 years from now? A few years ago, many people would have said no. It seemed likely that computers and the Internet would replace books. Now, however, most experts think that books are here to stay.

There are a number of reasons why computers won’t replace books entirely.3 One reason is that books on paper are much cheaper than computers. Books don’t need a power source either. You can read a book for as long as you want and wherever you want. You never have to worry about losing power. Also, many people feel more comfortable reading words in a book than reading words on a computer screen. It’s less tiring to the eyes.

Will books in the future be similar to the books you can buy today?

The answer to that question is no. In the future, you may only need to buy one book. With this one book, you will be able to read novels, plays, and even today’s newspaper. It will look like today’s book, but it will be electronic.

One of the people working on the book of the future is Professor Joseph Jacobson from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the U.S. Professor Jacobson’s book will have a small button on the side. When you press the button, words will instantly appear on the page. When you want to read a different story, you can push the button again and a new story will quickly appear.

What is the technology behind Professor Jacobson’s book? Two important inventions will make this new kind of book possible: electronic ink and radio paper. Electronic ink — or “e-ink” — is a liquid that can be printed on paper, metal, or anything else. E-ink looks and feels like printed words on paper. Unlike regular ink, however, words in e-ink are not permanent. They can be changed by pushing a button. When you push the button, all of the words on the page go away and new words appear.

The other new development“ is radio paper. This paper looks and feels like a page in a book. In reality, however, radio paper is made of plastic.

Professor Jacobson calls his book of the future “the last book.” This book, he says, will be the last book you will ever need.