SMS via Alcohol Puts New Spin on 'Message in a Bottle'

Isopropyl alcohol is widely used as a solvent and as a cleaning fluid, but researchers at two universities in Canada and the UK recently managed to use it to transmit a text message. The experiment used Arduino computers, an electronic spray to release the alcohol, fans to blow the alcohol along, and sensors for detecting the chemical signals and demodulating them back into text. The device is the first implementation of a microscopic data communication system using chemical signals, the researchers said.