© 2006 All Rights Reserved. Do not distribute or repurpose this work without written permission from the copyright holder(s).
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This article is marked as 'retired'. The information here may be out of date, incomplete, and/or incorrect.
Battery science has traditionally been the slowpoke of the technological industry. Look at a few of its competitors – in the last fifty years, screens have gone from black-and-white to color; from grainy cathode ray tube screens to high-definition plasma. Computers that used to be housed in gigantic warehouses, using thousands of vacuum tubes, are now overpowered by tiny boxes that sit on every college students’ desk. Processors, found in most modern devices, are built on an atomic scale.
Yet the batteries we use today are still based upon the same technology that was developed by Alessandro Volta over two hundred years ago. They are large, lose electrical charge with time, can leak dangerous acids, and even sometimes explode with misuse. But now, there comes new technology to finally replace the old – the nanobattery.
There are a few projects working with nanobattery technology, and one such endeavor comes from MIT’s Laboratory for Electromagnetic and Electronic Systems (LEES), which is improving on the design of ultracapacitors. TerraDaily writes:
“Today’s ultracapacitors use electrodes made of activated carbon, which is extremely porous and therefore has a very large surface area. However, the pores in the carbon are irregular in size and shape, which reduces efficiency. The vertically aligned nanotubes in the LEES ultracapacitor have a regular shape, and a size that is only several atomic diameters in width. The result is a significantly more effective surface area, which equates to significantly increased storage capacity.”
Unfortunately, most nanobatteries are still too expensive or impractical to be put to everyday use. Initially the technology will probably be used mostly in medical devices, military applications, and emergencies. But as is true with most technology, increases in production will likely result in decreases in cost. Perhaps one day soon the general public will enjoy laptop batteries which can hold a charge long enough to actually allow one to finish wri
Further reading:
MIT’s Ventures into Nanotube Batteries
mPhase Technologies, Another Current Researcher
Nanobatteries and Its Use for Artificial Eyes
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Yeah… The nano technology are really becoming our way of life. Day by day. I wonder who found the nano technology.
Can be used in military devices? I hope the bad ass wont used this technology for their own good. Let us be happy and enjoy this life ok?
It would be nice to get longer lasting batteries for the kids’ toys, that’s for sure.
Ultracapacitors won’t be replacing the battery. They just don’t have near the energy density as a Li-ion, NiMH, or even alkaline batteries, nanotech or not. Capacitors are used when you want to discharge all the stored energy in a very short amount of time. A battery just won’t let you do that. Also, to extract all the energy out of a capacitor, more complex circuitry is required. These ultracaps are great, but you probably won’t be seeing them powering your cell phone.
The same nanotech concept can be used on batteries though. Toshiba has released new Li-ion batteries with nano surface contacts, similar to the ones described here. These effectively allow a Li-ion battery to hold 3x the energy because so little of it is lost as heat. They also last longer and lose very little capacity over time. Right now they are marketing it for automotive and industrial applications, but that will probably trickle down eventually.
BTW, if you want better batteries now, stop buying alkaline. Go buy the high-capacity rechargable batteries (The expensive 15-minute rechargable 2200mAh ones) and a charger for it (Doesn’t have to be a 15-minute charger, just something that’s compatible). Yes, they are expensive, but they easily last 3-4x longer than a pack of alkalines when fully charged, and you get to reuse them. I haven’t bought any batteries since I bought mine, and that was 2 years ago. Otherwise I think I would have easily spent $50 on batteries.
mohdfadzlan said: “Can be used in military devices? I hope the bad ass wont used this technology for their own good. Let us be happy and enjoy this life ok?”
They’re looking for more efficient batteries. Certainly they could be used in any device utilizing batteries.
The worst thing to ever happen from a battery going bad is NES games losing their ability to save your game.
We will need these battery technologies to power our robot armies.
Lurker said: “We will need these battery technologies to power our robot armies.”
No….Robot….Armies!
That is all.
What about a super robot pie factory! Yes! We could take overr the world er… feed everyone pies… yeah. But I’m curious as to how the machines look that produce these nano tubes and sheets for these capacitors. I once saw a pair of small jumbo (I know oxymoron; but they looked small) capacitors that could carry a farad each. Aparently that takes about a football field of surface area.
Christ said: “The worst thing to ever happen from a battery going bad is NES games losing their ability to save your game.”
/signed
Floj said: “I once saw a pair of small jumbo (I know oxymoron; but they looked small) capacitors that could carry a farad each. Aparently that takes about a football field of surface area.”
Wait..What?
Small jumbo capacitors that have the surface area of a football field? I don’t know what goin’ on…
Wow, get one of those puppies in an iPod, and it might be worth using for once!
Excellent ending to the article Daniel. More efficient batteries could make life so so so much easier. Especially for those of us tethered to a laptop, mp3 player, or (most important of all) games system. :) ..I suppose there could be other worthwhile uses too, but I’m an IT guy, I’ve got my priorities. (Oh, and a nice efficient electric car while we’re wishing for things here.)
One idea as to why advances haven’t been made in batteries: the fundamental interest in Electromagnetism has fizzled out. No one wants to learn or advance E&M anymore. Why is this? One book. Jackson’s Classical Electrodynamics: (what seems to be) the only graduate level text on E&M. It’s garbage. Every Physics PhD says learning the course through that book is simply a “rite of passage.” No one will write a new book, because Jackson was the only guy who really understood it. Hence, the battery, improvements in which would involve a considerable understanding of E&M, just doesn’t get improved.
My two cents.
Carcer said: “No….Robot….Armies!
That is all.”
Fine. We need these batteries to power our cybernetic-zombie armies.
A cybernetic-zombie! Think of the possiblities…
Am I the only one that laughed at the end?
Ok, I snickered.
c0sbysweater said: “One idea as to why advances haven’t been made in batteries: the fundamental interest in Electromagnetism has fizzled out. No one wants to learn or advance E&M anymore.”
Batteries are a chemistry problem, not an EM one.
Well , being the “butt” of an engineering lab jolt/joke myself- I must say that even small capacators can be nasty toys if disharged quickly.. especially against a lab mates posterior.
I would hate to see these new “batteries” misused. I can imagine a “D” cell that could electroute a person if it shorts.. yeow..
.. hmm suddenly I can envision home made portable rail guns and high watt lasers being built… Miltiary uses could be plentiful..
..but I could settle for an I pod that has a decent running life – (but just as long as its not a trIPod (reference scary movie 4) http://www.themoviespoiler.com/Spoilers/scarymovie4.html)
Anyway – As to the comments above, why couldnt you limit the current out of the capactor by attaching a small inductor/resistor combo to create a longer discharge current limited “battery”.
I have now seen 15F capacitors the size of a VCR tape.. the time could be coming soon..
It’s Canada’s fault.
Carcer said: “Wait..What?
Small jumbo capacitors that have the surface area of a football field? I don’t know what goin’ on…”
Also – Wasn’t that the joys of Fractals that were so touted a while back – the maximization of surface area?
.. hmm suddenly I can envision home made portable rail guns and high watt lasers being built… Miltiary uses could be plentiful..”
For railguns/laser to replace weapons using chemical explosives (i.e. guns) there’s also the need to find high durability materials that can survive the large forces generated. However, disposable weapons are certainly nothing new, maybe 2020 the german army will have the Panzerfaust 1000.
maybe 2020 the german army will have the Panzerfaust 1000.”
Any Robotic mine sniffing dogs!
Lurker said: “We will need these battery technologies to power our robot armies.”
All your Base are below to us!
Er – Make that all your base are BELONG to us :P
gg
I’m not yet convinced these new batteries will actually beat Li-ion, alkaline, or even NiMH batteries. These capacitors are great but won’t be available before a long time. I agree that for some appliances such as notebook or laptop, a better battery solution is needed immediately.
I’m running out of battery juice as I’m writing this post so I won’t make it a long post. I guess it is time to recharge those notebook batteries again
-T
Or the other alternatives – Alcohol Fueled Bio Batteries – http://www.slu.edu/readstory/more/4479
As Homer the great once said – one for you .. one for me..
The first commercial nano-tech battery application I heard of is supposed to be available next month. DeWalt is introducting 36v cordless power tools Li-ion batteries with “nano-phosphates”, whatever that means. They claim dramatically longer life, greater power and faster charge times that currently available batteries. Coincidentally, my old 14.4v batteries are shot so I just may have to buy me a bad-ass new drill.
Christ said: “The worst thing to ever happen from a battery going bad is NES games losing their ability to save your game.”
That used to send me into fits of rage.
Hello? Cybernetic Zombie Armies?
If I don’t start to see some support for the CZA I will show no mercy and lay waste to all that have an will post here.
You have been warned.
So….can I buy better batteries at Target or not?
Interesting, indeed. Nano-stuff was written about a lot back when OMNI Magazine was still circulating, and I used to love to read about it…but they wrote about nanometric devices like little microscopic surgical thingys that would travel the bloodstream of a cancer victim and eat up tumors and stuff. With the pics I’ve seen of atoms making a happy face, I guess that’s coming, but batteries? Hmm. Once again, my friends, you’ve missed the big picture: We speak of iPods, cell phones, cordless drills, rail guns, laptops, cars, and MOST importantly robot pie factories. So big whoop. What about vibrators? Huh? I mean, imagine 1000 uses per charge, give or take depending upon…um…need. All this talk about 14.4v-15 farad -fractal surface area-zombie-gobbledegook. All bloop. Harrumph. BzzzZzZZzzZZzZzzZZzzZZzZz…!
JustAnotherName said: “So….can I buy better batteries at Target or not?”
No – but I am sure WALMART has em.. they seem to have everything now days…
Ironclaw said: “No – but I am sure WALMART has em.. they seem to have everything now days…”
HEY!! I all but GAVE you that post!
I want it for my personal battery.
opps…I meant vibrator…..ahhhh, love to love you baby….
As for your laptops’ power consumption problem:
http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/10/samsung-shows-off-flash-laptop-drive-at-cebit/
We already have better batteries in Canada. A thimble full of water powers a house for a month. Or the ‘big mambo’ vibrator for a week. And we all drive electric cars too. Haven’t you ever noticed the electrical cord at the front of our vehicles?
Christ said: “The worst thing to ever happen from a battery going bad is NES games losing their ability to save your game.”
You can replace the battery in those games with a soldering iron, try searching on google for the details.
Oh, and I will never care about the cybernetic-zombies so long as my vibrator keeps buzzing along.
redapollo said: “That used to send me into fits of rage.”
For me, it still does!
This is the wave of the future, and we all know it. If they can make a vat of chemicals into something they call ‘breakfast cereal’ or ‘cheez pufz’, they can certainly make a decent steak. Hey, the funny part is, there will be some media article in the future that talks about how McProtein Deluxes were once made with real animals! People in the future (your grandchildren/great grandchildren?) will look upon us ‘savages’ as we do upon the Aztecs for their human sacrifices, and shudder. It will be the one trump argument that they’ll always use to prove how much better they are than us, the bastards. “Yeah, we’re all gay sissy boys, but hey, we never killed real animals for our hamburgesa con quesos like the those barbarians in the past did. We’re a lot better than they were!”
I worked for one of the major battery companies depicted in the picture. The article printed has a mistake in it. The article says, “… can leak dangerous acids, and even sometimes explode with misuse.” The claim of “leak dangerous acids” is incorrect. All commonly made batteries are not an acid they are a base. Any dry cell battery is partially made of potassium hydroxide. Acid batteries or “wet batteries” are your car batteries. Please get your facts straight before publishing them. You look like an idiot.
The idea of nano batteries in today’s age is ever growing more important. Also if we can find a way to make batteries that are “green” being safer for the environment the better off everyone will be. What good is technology when we are all dead??
Um dawn_phelps23, that statement was kind of harsh. Actually the Author stated that,
which is an open statement referring to all flavors of batteries. Thus he is correct since it is a blanket statement covering both dry cell and wet cell batteries.
Also I utilize a deep cell battery system in my home electrical generation for wind and solar power storage. It is a wet cell and not used in my car and some have on occasion “barfed” battery acid when the system malfunctioned and overloaded them instead of shunting the excess juice.
The Don
Even zinc-carbon batteries? It’s one common kind of dry cell battery that is made using zinc chloride and ammonium chloride, both of which are acids. Most cheaper batteries, especially the “batteries included” varieties, are acidic zinc-carbon batteries. Yeah, most brand-name batteries are alkali, but certainly not “all commonly made batteries” as you claimed above.
My, aren’t you a charmer? I guess I don’t need to mention what you’re acting like.
Here is a link to a very interesting article about how new UltraCaps can help out with hybrid vehicles
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/01/triple_hybrid_w.php
I saw the new round of super batteries in a cordless screwdriver. It charges in 90 seconds. Imagine when they get these things for phones.
http://www.ultracapacitors.org/ultracapacitors.org-blog/coleman-flashcell-screwdriver.htm
The way to increase the capacity of a capacitor (the way to be repetitively redundant?) is to increase the surface area where googles of electrons can park themselves. Hence the benefits of nanoengineering and using buckytubes and all that other neat, cool stuff.
I don’t think we’ll be seeing capacitors used for primary power in autos any time soon, but they do have great potential (ha ha) to be used to absorb and discharge surges of power, so that a regenerative braking system using a capicator paired with new generation lithium batteries can become MUCH more efficient by wasting less of the braking energy and making more surge energy available for acceleration.
From a safety standpoint, using ultracapacitors as batteries makes as much sense as using mechanical batteries in cars. If these short, all the stored potential energy is released in one violent burst. The “shrapnel” will be explosive arcs and the real hazards of electrocution.
This may just give my science teacher an orgasm…