New Battery Tech May Triple Battery Capacity

Battery chemistry may have improved battery performance. Iron, to alkaline, nickel-cadmium, nickel metal hydride to the various lithium variations. Weight and recharargability were the driving motives. However most of the improvements in live were centered around packing in more storage media or making high density batteries which often proved problematic
in it's own problem.

Now I read about battery researchers at Washington State University have figured out a way to make lithium-ion batteries using an anode made of tin instead of graphite. Graphite, while easy to form does not perform optimally under high current loads. Tin anodes on the other hand could support 3 times as much storage. The problem with tin however is that over time it grows what can commonly be called "whiskers". These whiskers can become so bad that they can short out electronics or batteries.

The researchers however have said, well if we can not remove the whiskers, why not put them to our benifit. The researchers have succeeded in forcing tin whiskers uniformly at the quantum level and they have been able to take these tin whisker anodes and electroplate them! One of the other gains is that the electroplated tin anodes can be made much less expensively. Plus they would last longer, and recharge much faster plus holding 3 times the charge!

Check out the full Dvice article here

Paper Batteries a very real possibility

Consider this: Paper cell-phones or paper lap-top computers. Electronic paper that doesn't require any batteries or solar cells. Or batteries a mere fraction the weight and size of current technology, but still able to produce enough power to meet the needs of an electric vehicle but have far greater range.

Scientists at Stanford University in California report that regular paper could easily be turned into a super battery.

From the Yahoo news article sent in by Tim Sayill (click link for complete story)

• ...they have successfully turned paper coated with ink made of silver and carbon nanomaterials into a "paper battery" that holds promise for new types of lightweight, high-performance energy storage.

Sony runs Walkman off sugar-based bio battery

Sony, one of the world's largest battery makers, said it had succeeded in creating a battery that produces electricity by breaking down sugar. The bio cell, which measures 39 millimeters cubed, delivers 50mW (milliWatts). The bio cell has sugar-digesting enzymes at the anode that extract electrons and hydrogen ions from the glucose. The hydrogen ions pass through a membrane separator to the cathode where they absorb oxygen from the air to produce water as a byproduct. The electrons flow around the circuit outside the device producing the electricity needed to power it.

Thanks to Xnewsman for the post

Belkin's Pitstop charging table

Belkin's Pitstop charging table lets you ditch those cables. By simply placing your rechargeable item on the table top, your electronic do dad gets a much needed top off - sans wires and wall warts. How is this black magic accomplished you ask? Well by simple induction I respond, knowingly. And there is the 10 thousand dollar word - induction. Anyone familiar with electronics (ahem, like yours truly) knows that if you cause current to flow through a conductor, you can start another current flowing in any conductor that lies near the original conductor. Now to totally confuse, you don't need an original conductor or original current...you can use say a - magnet. That's how electric motors and generators do their trick. But...back to the Pitstop - Think of how radio works - you have someone playing music at a station, someone takes that sound and with the help of wires and magnets, puts that signal on the station's long wire...better known as an antenna. Now in your car, you have another long wire, (the car antenna) and through it you receive the signal. Now what really happens is that the station induces a current on the car antenna that the radio uses to make audio signals. So how does this apply to your current starved mp3 player? well, say it has a very long wire wrapped up inside the case instead of a charger? You lay it on the Pitstop's table top that is acting something like a radio station. By being close by, your player can pick up the signal that the Pitstop is putting out. Your player turns that signal into simple current that can recharge the batteries in the player. This technology is far from new. Ever since there has been a transformer (wall wart or like that big round thing hanging off the telephone pole that has wires running from it to your house) there has been induction. This is just a very clever utilization. No wires to chafe, no transformer to heat up or short out and no plugs to wear out.