June 02, 2008
A Revolution in Battery Technology? 20 Times the Storage Capacity?
Via engaget.com:
[An industry consortium] has developed a new kind of lithium ion battery that can supposedly store 20 times the power [sic], but is also cheap and easily mass produced. Apparently this new kind of battery drops cobalt, an expensive staple of the traditional Li-ion recipe, instead making use of nano-infused lithium with manganese.The author of the linked post made a misstatement about the new battery, thus making it unclear what the innovation entails. In terms of the physics, one battery doesn't "store" 20 times as much power as another battery. (Countdown to some armchair physicist arguing otherwise in 3...2...) Batteries store energy and output power (and energy). If this new battery design is capable of outputting 20 times the power of a conventional battery, that would be cool, but not revolutionary. If the new battery is capable of storing 20 times the energy, that would be revolutionary.
Not a clue whether this story is legit, a ploy to drive up stock prices, or what. Only time will tell.
UPDATE: Commenter JustaDude provided a link to a story from last December on another possible battery breakthrough coming out of Stanford:
Stanford researchers have found a way to use silicon nanowires to reinvent the rechargeable lithium-ion batteries that power laptops, iPods, video cameras, cell phones, and countless other devices.The new technology, developed through research led by Yi Cui, assistant professor of materials science and engineering, produces 10 times the amount of electricity of existing lithium-ion, known as Li-ion, batteries. A laptop that now runs on battery for two hours could operate for 20 hours, a boon to ocean-hopping business travelers.
By Ragnar Danneskjold, Typical Bitter Gun-Clinger at 12:25 AM |
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