But a new development in battery technology could bring paper right back around to its former place of prominence, using it to power the very digital devices — smartphones, Kindles, laptops, etc. — that are increasingly replacing print.

By coating regular copier paper in ink made of carbon nanotubes and silver nanowires, Stanford researchers have created highly conductive storage devices that can be bent, folded, and wrapped around other surfaces (energy-storing wallpaper, anyone?). The carbon nanotube ink adheres to the surface of the paper just like normal ink would, making paper the ideal vehicle for these thin, lightweight storage devices.

Since earlier research has shown that silicon nanowire batteries can be up to 10 times more powerful than lithium-ion batteries, researchers are hopeful the paper batteries will be able to power everything from automobiles to laptops to phones with smaller, lighter, more powerful and longer-lasting batteries. The method can also create simple supercapacitors with large surface areas that allow rapid energy discharge, a requirement for automobile power sources that lithium-ion batteries have trouble satisfying.

All of that would just be more pie-in-the-sky battery research if it were not for this: the paper battery technology is basically market-ready. That's not to say that researchers won't need some time to iron out the kinks, but power sources based on this technology could be commercialized very soon compared to a lot of the nano-noise circulating in scientific circles. The fact that the process is also very cheap means devices like these could be powering your paper-replacing devices sooner than you think. Get the details straight from Stanford's Yi Cui below. [PhysOrg, Forbes]

Popular Science is your wormhole to the future. Reporting on what's new and what's next in science and technology, we deliver the future now.

Either way, these are funky and pretty. [Le Creative Sweatshop via Mocoloco]

Basically, you can program certain controls or sounds into the paper radio. Say you're an artist who wants to bring attention to a local college radio station—you program that into the RFID chip, and then when the paper radio is draped on any speaker equipped with an RFID reader, it'll change the station to the one you picked. Or you can have it broadcast short messages; Matt suggests a particular environmentalist star of 30 Rock might program in warnings to turn off your lights when not in use. It's a very particular usage, but the radios themselves look so cool that we don't really care if they're 100% practical. [MocoLoco]

Indeed, the only way you are going to make a phone call on this is if you use your imagination. These paper iPhones are designed for one thing and one thing only—taking notes. At least it's double sided—one half for regular notes and the other half for technical sketches. [Notepod via iSpazio via OhGizmo]

Pretty sweet. Go get the PDF and do it yourself here. [iPhone Dock via Unplggd]

Pretty simply, it's a small pocket notebook in the shape of a SIM card, both in unformatted (notebook) and formatted (address book) styles. Each SIMbook costs about $6. [Address Book, Notebook via Nerd Approved]

The sculpture is called, in English, "A Castle on the Sea," and is currently exhibited at Uminohotaru, which we assume is some kind of gallery right on the ocean. The entire project, excluding the lights and possibly a few mechanical elements of the train, is made of painstakingly cut and folded paper. Check out a few of these shots, if you don't mind your socks being rocked clear off your feet and across the room. [Tokyo Bling]

The "All-In-One Card Stamp" is, sadly, just a concept by Ji Lee. But hopefully there's a good Samaritan out there who's willing to poach this design for the good of humanity, preferably incorporating a forlorn Maxine into the design. [Please Enjoy via The Daily What]

The complete method is explained in the paper Fingerprinting Blank Paper Using Commodity Scanners. Here's the abstract:

This paper presents a novel technique for authenticating physical documents based on random, naturally occurring imperfections in paper texture. We introduce a new method for measuring the three-dimensional surface of a page using only a commodity scanner and without modifying the document in any way. From this physical feature, we generate a concise fingerprint that uniquely identifies the document. Our technique is secure against counterfeiting and robust to harsh handling; it can be used even before any content is printed on a page. It has a wide range of applications, including detecting forged currency and tickets, authenticating passports, and halting counterfeit goods. Document identification could also be applied maliciously to de-anonymize printed surveys and to compromise the secrecy of paper ballots.

Essentially, by scanning a piece of paper from several angles, it's possible to use shadow readings to reconstruct the paper's unique 3D features—what becomes the basic fingerprint. This fingerprint data can then be stored in something as simple as a barcode for later validation.

Now if we could only authenticate our digital data with such foolproof measures. [Freedom to Tinker via boingboing]

Let's put it this way. If our reader had ordered two packs of photo paper, the world's rainforests would be but a pile of sawdust, plus enough air would be trapped within plastic polyair bubbles to make a simple walk around the block into a death-defying Everest summit.

Instead, the Earth chooses to kill us slowly, having deemed the prospect of a swift, global-scale execution too painless. [Thanks Jeromy!]

UPDATE from the tipster: "I ordered a printer from Bestbuy, and the paper came free with the order. I do not make it a practice to buy paper in small quantities online, as it is generally not cost effective, but when it was free, I thought "what the hell."

Spotted at a Taiwanese book show, these two Delta Electronics displays, though formally spec-less, are clearly astounding in quality. Coming in monochrome and color configurations, apparently the black and white version has better contrast, but both feature very sharp visuals. Indeed, even when shrunken and compressed in our lead image, you can still make out some of the headlines along with the specific anatomy of Obama's impressive earlobes.

So while the world will probably buzz next about the new Kindle, keep in mind what we could be seeing in e-paper technology, even if a 24-inch display is a little too large to fit in most briefcases. [Engadget China via Engadget]

The Web Design Notebook adds that one thing even the most accomplished of artists can't seem to conceptualize in their mind's eye, the influence of the browser window, to the canvas. This notebook is filled with 45 templates accommodating for the FireFox 3 (Mac) toolbar, along with 15 additional pages just for ad design. It'll either help with the feng shui for your site, or just make those drunken cocktail napkin sketches a bit more official.

On sale now, the store is currently down so we're not sure about the pricing. [Hunting Lodge Store via Paranaiv]

This isn't mere papercraft—the Universal World House is a $5,000, 390-square-foot modular home, outfitted with plumbing and boarding facilities to support up to eight (eight!) residents each. The secret of its construction is its "paper" shell; the resin-soaked cellulose, made from recycled paper, is shaped into honeycomb walls, which provide structural integrity and insulation to the houses.

Aside from having a convertible closed/open-air kitchen with table and benches, the Universal World House has a hidden killer feature:

It has been designed so that a family can slaughter an animal on the veranda, wash it in the shower and hang it, along with fish, on an integrated washing line.

Hooray!(?) Apparently a few countries have placed orders for the UWH, including Nigeria and Angola, but I could see how domestic aide organizations could benefit from something like this too. [BBC via Fark]

We thoroughly enjoy that his hands are in each shot. That's what the fancy Kindle has been missing all this time! [Richard Shed via Unplggd]