There are plenty of devices that claim to be the world's thinnest, but when it comes to displays it's hard to get much thinner than a soap bubble. A trio of researchers from the University of Tokyo, Carnegie Mellon University, and the University of Tsukuba are working on just that with a new project called a colloidal display. The screen uses a special mixture of liquids to create a membrane much like a regular soap bubble, though one that's much harder to pop.

Ultrasonic vibrations are used to control aspects of the membrane, such as its transparency and texture, to alter the images projected on to it — multiple screens can even be used simultaneously to create a 3D effect. "The combination of the ultrasonic waves and ultra thin membranes makes more realistic, distinctive, and vivid imageries on screen," the team writes on its website. You can see the patent pending display in action below.