why do only some materials work on touchscreen, and what is in touchscreen gloves that makes them work?
In: Technology
Capacitive touchscreens you see on recent smartphones use differences in capacitance to detect touch. Your body is in fact a giant capacitor. If you touch the screen, the capacitance of your body adds to the capacitance already in the system and your smartphone detects “Yay, capacitance has changed, someone has touched me!”
Pencils for example are not a giant capacitor. So to make touch work without the human body you have to use materials which mimic the capacitance of the human body. Conductable rubber works good. This material is then added to the fingertips of the glove.
The basic difference is conductivity + surface area. A needle will not work because it has very little surface area that can directly touch. A cotton glove will not work because it is not conductive. A glove with a bunch of flexible little conductive fibers WILL work.
If its made from organic material it will most likely work. Aka Leather/Skin of an animal. It mimics your own skin
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