Interesting New battery developments on the Horizon

[Ajax]

This just in...

A Tenfold Improvement in Battery Life?
By Alex Serpo, CNET News.com
A tenfold improvement in battery life? (© CNET)

Stanford University researchers have made a discovery that could signal the arrival of laptop batteries that last more than a day on a single charge.

The researchers have found a way to use silicon nanowires to give rechargeable lithium ion batteries—used in laptops, iPods, video cameras, and mobile phones—as much as 10 times more charge. This potentially could give a conventional battery-powered laptop 40 hours of battery life, rather than four hours.

The new batteries were developed by assistant professor Yi Cui and colleagues at Stanford University's Department of Materials Science and Engineering.

[read rest of article here]

A Tenfold Improvement in Battery Life? -   MSN Tech & Gadgets - News and Features

 

[flecc]

Yes, it as reported in the forum a few days ago Ajax, and it was in the computing press some while ago. It seems to be a long way off manufacture though, the difficulties in realising it in mass manufacture being considerable.

And of course, it's the cathodes which are causing us much more trouble than the carbon anodes at present,those not presenting any problems, though that could change once iron based cathodes are available in sizes and prices suitable for e-bikes.
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[Ajax]

Yes, it as reported in the forum a few days ago Ajax, and it was in the computing press some while ago. It seems to be a long way off manufacture though, the difficulties in realising it in mass manufacture being considerable.

And of course, it's the cathodes which are causing us much more trouble than the carbon anodes at present,those not presenting any problems, though that could change once iron based cathodes are available in sizes and prices suitable for e-bikes.
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If the theory has been worked out, then it just remains for market forces to take over. It will most likely mean an asian company regearing their manufacturing process, assuming the potential market benifits doesnt compete with their immediate short term view of the market. Still its reassuring to know there is this technology just waitng for investment.

It might even be on stream by the time i need to change my battery...

 

[flecc]

I don't share your optimism in battery matters.

I don't know the exact ratio of battery breakthrough announcements to actual realisation over the history of batteries, but it's probably nearer 100 to 1 than 10 to 1.

It's a bit like the miracle medical breakthroughs announced at least once week on the 6 o'clock TV news, usually ending with the proviso that about 5 years of development would be necessary. At 72 years old, I've long known they rarely ever happen and I'm still going to die.
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