A touch screen or capacitive touch screen is simply the amalgamation of a physical input and output unit. Usually the touch screen is single layered above an image of an informational data processing system. When the user makes a physical gesture on the screen the information processed is registered by the unit and the appropriate action is taken accordingly. Often the screen is an LCD or LED screen while the system is typically a phone, tablet, or laptop.

To understand how a touch screen works we need to first understand how touch screens work. Touch screens are comprised of a resistive layer, an ion based liquid crystal material layer, an electrolytic layer, an electric field layer, and a substrate that is in either a electrostatic charge or conductive form. Basically it’s a sandwich like configuration.

Because the entire system runs at a faster speed when the touch screen is responsive, the tablet computers of the future will indeed run much more quickly than today’s touch screens. In many cases the data processing unit can double the amount of calculations per second that are processed by today’s tablet computers. In other words, you’ll be able to do twice as much on a touch screen tablet computer.

On multi-touch tablets there are actually two different types of touch screen technology. You have a resistive touch screen where the computer mouse is actually used to interact with the touch screen. This type of multi-touch screen is somewhat unique because it actually works by applying constant pressure to the screen. When you make a physical motion on a touchscreen you are not actually physically touching the screen but rather are navigating through the virtual keyboard of the tablet. This physical interaction with the actual device is referred to as “gesturing”.

The second type of multi-touch screen is a capacitive screen. Unlike a resistive touch screen, a capacitive screen allows you to actually press the capacitance instead of making physical contact with the screen. Basically you use your finger to actually interact with the electronic machine. You can easily pinch in order to move the buttons around on the screen and perform other functions on your touch screen tablet. Like the resistive touch screen, the results of your pressing and sliding fingers can be recorded in order to allow you to perform subsequent actions with the device.

A modern touch screen tablet can be as small as a credit card. However, some of the very latest touch screens are as large as a standard personal computer. In fact, today’s touch screens are so small that they can be placed virtually anywhere in your home. This is especially true for the newer touch-screens that have the ability to be positioned on furniture such as couches and loveseats.