But it is possible to lay down a thin layer of silicon on a flexible plastic sheet, through a process called vacuum deposition.

ECONOMIST: Just press print

Mr Diallo has been sent to fill the vacuum left by the death of the previous mediator, Alioune Blondin Beye, and to steer the peace process back on to solid ground.

ECONOMIST: Angola

We're trying to change round decades, indeed centuries of conflict so what we do know is that where there is a political vacuum, where there is instability in the democratic institutions then the men of violence will try to wreck this peace process.

BBC: News | BREAKFAST WITH FROST | Dr John Reid MP, Secretary for Northern Ireland

Most recently, the company has announced the "world's first application of self assembly used to create a vacuum around nanowires for next-generation microprocessors, " which just so happens to mimic the natural pattern-creating process that forms seashells, snowflakes, and enamel on teeth.

ENGADGET: IBM apes Mother Nature for faster, more efficient chips