Two researchers at the University of Illinois have developed a silver-inked rollerball pen that allows the user to draw conductive pathways on any typical writing surface. The pen looks and feels like any regular ink pen, but the solution of real silver nano-particles it contains retains its electrical conductivity even through multiple bends or folds on a sheet of paper. (During testing, it’s claimed a piece of paper had to be folded thousands of times before the electrical connection broke at the crease.) A similar concept has already been used with special inkjet printers, but this marks the first time the technology was put into a simple, inexpensive pen that can be used anywhere. Conductive pens have been sold in the past for the purpose of repairing damaged circuit traces on boards, but these weren’t suitable for drawing complete working circuits on porous surfaces.
Not only does this pen allow electrical engineers to design working circuits by literally hand-sketching them, but it also opens up interesting possibilities for artists. The researchers illustrated this by tracing a copy of the Chinese painting 
Sae-Han-Do, which depicts a house, some trees and Chinese text, before mounting a working blue LED light on its roof.
The pen’s creators, Jennifer Lewis and Jennifer Bernhard, are now looking for ways to expand the selection of usable inks, making it possible to write in multiple colors.
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