If you thought current televisions were thin, you've seen nothing yet. A new display has been developed that's just microns thin, by comparison a human hair is 100-microns thick.

This display discovery isn't just about televisions or phones though, this could be applied to other things like clothes. Imagine owning one t-shirt and changing what it displays like you would a screensaver on your phone. Or a soldier changing camouflage to suit surroundings perfectly.

The display was created by a team at the University of Central Florida. Lead professor Debashis Chanda points out that this is exciting as it doesn’t require its own light source but rather uses ambient light.

The display works much like animals in nature that use camouflage, such as chameleons or octopuses. In this way it is able to use incoming natural light and reflects only the wavelengths needed to appear a certain colour. The result is a super low-powered, super thin display that's capable of showing off the full colour spectrum.

Of course a small voltage is required to change the colour of a surface. By varying the voltage those wavelengths that are absorbed and those that are reflected can be changed, resulting in colours.

On top of this ground-breaking discovery is the exciting way it was created, using inexpensive nano-imprinting techniques. This means it could be made quite easily and affordably in the future.

Imagine a future where every surface is a potential screen. That future is coming.

READ: Apple iPhone could be in for an OLED flexible display upgrade