The human eye is sensitive to change above all else. Hence the flashing indicator for cars, the blink comparator and the flicker photometer, and the blinking cursor on the computer screen. Indeed, says Daedalus, hence the strange and terrible authority of the computer screen itself, and of the TV and cinema screen as well. The subliminal flicker of these hypnotic displays rivets the attention and subverts the mind.

So Daedalus wants to give printed text and pictures, and indeed objects in the real world, the eye-appeal of constant flicker. What is needed is a dye whose reflectivity is not steady, but oscillates about a mean value. Ordinary phosphors absorb light and emit it later. The photon energy is stored in the crystal structure as excited unpaired electrons. So Daedalus is inventing an oscillating phosphor.

He recalls that unpaired electrons are paramagnetic. An excited state should therefore induce a local magnetic field; and the rate at which it decays should depend on the local field. DREADCO solid-state physicists are therefore growing tiny phosphor crystals each containing a two-state magnetic inclusion. The idea is that the phosphor will absorb light until its growing field ‘flips’ the magnetic element. This will trigger the rapid re-emission of light; the field will decay and the magnetic inclusion will flip back. The result will be an unsteady, oscillating phosphor, driven by the energy of the light falling on it. It will brighten and darken endlessly about its mean reflectivity.

Artists and ad-men will rush to exploit the new products. DREADCO's ‘Wink’ inks and paints will flicker beckoningly from posters, magazines and the more garish of fashion clothes and accessories. Warning signs, safety regulations, identifying marks and disclaimers in contracts will signal their importance in unmissable Wink. High-frequency Winks, compelling subliminal attention without it being obvious why, will revolutionize the cosmetics industry. Its customers, without seeming garish or blatant, will now be able to call subtle attention to their most charming features. Long-period Winks will alleviate the visual boredom of institutions and offices; they will even vary in frequency with the ambient illumination. In theatres and clubs, strobe lighting on Winked decor will induce amazing interference effects. Sadly, patrons may be at risk of epileptic fits.

The Further Inventions of Daedalus is published by Oxford University Press.