as "flakes," which are dispersed in a liquid host medium. These flakes in many respects resemble the metallic particles or "glitter" that are used as pigments for automobile body finishes and decora- tive applications and that come in a variety of colors spanning the visible and near-infrared spectrum. Unlike the more conventional particles, the apparent color of pCLC flakes can be made to change or completely disappear as they rotate in an electric field. This rotation, or "switching," effect is the underlying principle for using pCLC flakes as the active element in image displays and other applications. The flakes do not need the backlight used in typical com- puter screens because they reflect light the way a piece of paper does; thus a display that uses these flakes would use less electricity and could be easily viewed anywhere that a regular paper page can be read. There are endless possibilities for surfaces that could be coated with "switchable" pCLC flakes, for example, for use in continuously changing THE CRITICAL LAST INCH-INPUT AND OUTPUT TECHNOLOGIES banners in a store window or as a rewriteable paper that also accepts com- puter downloads. Other ideas include camouflage for vehicles that changes with the terrain, switchable solar reflectors, or filters for instruments used in fiber-optic applications and telecommunications. The flake technology has some unique advantages when compared with other display technologies. For example, pCLC flakes are highly resistant to temperature variations, allowing them to be used in a much wider climate range than conventional liquid crystal displays. Because only a very small amount of flake motion is required to produce a relatively large effect, the response time of pCLC flakes can be competitive with the standard liquid crystal displays found in today's laptop computers, palmtop computers, and other competing electronic paper technologies. Several different electronic paper technologies are under development in various laboratories around the world, and some are 