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In situ transmission electron microscopy at EMSL was used to study structural changes in the team’s new anode system. Real-time measurements show silicon nanoparticles inside carbon shells before (left) and after (right) lithiation. + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + -+ - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + -+ - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + -+ - + - + - + - + - + - + - + -...

Test set-up for the silicon battery: the battery itself is only the size of a button cell and is located in the hollow cylinder in the middle of the acrylic glass casing. The thin channels that pass through the housing control the supply and outlet of the electrolyte fluid. Credit: Forschungszentrum Jülich +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- Silicon-air batteries are viewed as a promising and cost-effective alternative to current energy storage technology. However, they have thus far only achieved relatively short running times. Jülich researchers have now discovered why. In theory, silicon-air batteries have a much higher energy density and are also smaller and...

Well it seems the battery gods have heard our call and bestowed upon us a miracle.Researchers at the University of California Irvine (UCI) may have discovered a way to drastically increase the life of modern day batteries. And the best part is that they stumbled upon this solution by accident.To be more specific, the discovery was made by fifth-year PhD student, Mya Le Thai. Mya was working on an electrolyte gel that was to substitute the electrolyte liquid currently found in batteries in an attempt to make it more affordable. But in a coincidental twist of fate (thank you...

The video was graphic and difficult to watch, showing a burly man push his way into the suburban home and begin to punch and kick the woman for several minutes, at one point throwing her down a flight of stairs, all while the toddler watched from the couch. Custis then fled the location with some jewelry, including the victim's wedding ring.

HP has recalled batteries sold with a range of its of consumer and business notebooks over concerns the devices could catch fire. The tech giant has asked customers who purchased certain Compaq, ProBook, Envy, and Pavilion laptops between March 1 2013 and August 30 2015 nationally to turn off the device, remove the battery and check its identification number. It is warning the affected devices could catch fire and burn the user.

A new concept for a flow battery functions like an old hourglass or egg timer, with particles (in this case carried as a slurry) flowing through a narrow opening from one tank to another. The flow can then be reversed by turning the device over. Credit: Image courtesy of the researchers ================================================================================================================== A new approach to the design of a liquid battery, using a passive, gravity-fed arrangement similar to an old-fashioned hourglass, could offer great advantages due to the system's low cost and the simplicity of its design and operation, says a team of MIT researchers who have made a...

A University of Texas at Dallas researcher has made a discovery that could open the door to cellphone and car batteries that last five times longer than current ones. Dr. Kyeongjae Cho, professor of materials science and engineering in the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science, has discovered new catalyst materials for lithium-air batteries that jumpstart efforts at expanding battery capacity. The research was published in Nature Energy. "There's huge promise in lithium-air batteries. However, despite the aggressive research being done by groups all over the world, those promises are not being delivered in real life," Cho said....

UCI chemist Reginald Penner (shown) and doctoral candidate Mya Le Thai have developed a nanowire-based technology that allows lithium-ion batteries to be recharged hundreds of thousands of times. Credit: Daniel A. Anderson / UCI ========================================================================================================== University of California, Irvine researchers have invented nanowire-based battery material that can be recharged hundreds of thousands of times, moving us closer to a battery that would never require replacement. The breakthrough work could lead to commercial batteries with greatly lengthened lifespans for computers, smartphones, appliances, cars and spacecraft. Scientists have long sought to use nanowires in batteries. Thousands of times thinner than a human...

LEXINGTON COUNTY, SC Two Lexington High School students have been charged with assaulting a freshman on the school’s wrestling team in a locker room. Preston Edward Painter, 18, and Donald Hinson Lewis, 17, were charged last month with third-degree assault and battery, according to arrest warrants. The two students were charged in March, and the victim’s father told The State newspaper Wednesday that the family intends to relocate because of the incident. Witnesses told police that on March 10, one student struck the 14-year-old victim on the back with an open palm, and the other struck the victim on the...

Two Secret Service agents have been Suspended, after a Reporter managed to Breech Security and make Physical Contact with a Presidential Candidate while Violating the Personal and secure space of a Presidential Candidate under their Direct Supervision. The Presidential Candidate was spared any further assault when The Candidates Campaign Manager managed to Pull away the aggressor just in Time. How the Reporter managed to BREECH Security in this Aggravated Assault is under Investigation.Both Agents have been relieved of all security duty pending official review.

He was a lobbyist who represented one client who sought funds from the federal stimulus program and then another, a group backed by the Koch brothers, who opposed it. He was a political operative who once debated a cardboard cutout of the Democratic governor of New Hampshire to protest tax rates. And he was a congressional aide who was arrested after he brought a gun to work, then sued when he did not get it back. Perhaps not surprisingly, the campaign manager for Donald J. Trump’s unorthodox bid for president, Corey Lewandowski, a 40­year­old New Hampshire resident, does not have...

It's a great time to be a kid if you like tiny, expensive, electric vehicles. Last week, a company called Actev debuted the Arrow Kart, an extremely smart go-kart with a top speed of 12 miles per hour. This week, Tesla's getting into the mix with a tiny Model S made by Radio Flyer, the 99-year-old company known for its bright red wagons and tricycles. The $500 "Model S for Kids," as it's being called, is basically a scale model of Tesla's popular electric sedan. It's made for children ages three to eight and has a weight capacity of 81...

Fabrication schematic of ordered mesoporous fewlayer carbon (OMFLC). Credit: Science (2015). DOI: 10.1126/science.aab3798 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ (Phys.org) - A team of researchers working in China has found a way to dramatically improve the energy storage capacity of supercapacitors - by doping carbon tubes with nitrogen. In their paper published in the journal Science, the team describes their process and how well the newly developed supercapacitors worked, and their goal of one day helping supercapacitors compete with batteries. Like a battery, a capacitor is able to hold a charge, unlike a battery, however, it is able to be charged and discharged very quickly...

Rice University scientists are making small, flexible microsupercapacitors in a room-temperature process they claim shows promise for manufacturing in bulk. The technique is based on their method to burn patterns of spongy graphene into plastic sheets with a commercial laser. Credit: Tour Group/Rice University ====================================================================================================================================== Rice University researchers who pioneered the development of laser-induced graphene have configured their discovery into flexible, solid-state microsupercapacitors that rival the best available for energy storage and delivery. The devices developed in the lab of Rice chemist James Tour are geared toward electronics and apparel. They are the subject of a new paper in the...

It is physically impossible for me to love a story with that headline any more than I already do. Via The Smoking Gun, Natasha West was a customer at an Oak Lawn, Illinois Denny’s just looking for some pancakes. Specifically, all of the pancakes, as she had ordered the $4 all-you-can-eat pancake special. When West was informed, however, that a singular order of the special only applied to her and that her entire party could not partake of her limitless flapjack bounty, police say she reacted poorly. West is alleged to have begun cursing and throwing punches at her server...

A schematic showing the formation of lithium hydroxide (LiOH) on the graphene electrode on discharging a non-aqueous lithium-oxygen battery in the presence of the redox mediator, lithium iodide, and trace water. On charging, the iodide is oxidized to iodine, which helps to remove the LiOH and reform the bare graphene electrode. Credit: Tao Liu, Gabriella Bocchetti and Clare P. Grey ========================================================================================================================================== Scientists have developed a working laboratory demonstrator of a lithium-oxygen battery which has very high energy density, is more than 90% efficient, and, to date, can be recharged more than 2000 times, showing how several of the problems holding...

A US realtor has announced plans to create a fleet of hybrid-electric buildings powered by battery energy storage systems from Tesla Energy. California-based Irvine Company has signed a memorandum of understanding with microgrid firm Advanced Microgrid Solutions (AMS) to install the battery systems at each building. The batteries will be charged during non-peak hours and will be used for on-site power during peak daytime hours or in the event of a power failure, Irvine Company said. The project’s first phase is planned to include up to 24 office buildings in the city of Irvine, and is expected to reduce the...

Police say a man threw a hot sauce bottle and knocked his victim unconscious in a fight over graham crackers. Riveria Beach police say Shawn Deandre Thomas was eating graham crackers this week at a church that provides meals for the homeless. Authorities said Thomas became upset when someone asked for his crackers so he picked up a bottle of hot sauce and allegedly threw it at the man's head, knocking him unconscious. According to a police report, Thomas also punched another man in the throat when he tried to intervene. Thomas is charged with aggravated battery with a deadly...

Electric carmaker Tesla has announced that it will obtain lithium for its batteries from two companies in northern Mexico, leaving Nevada lawmakers who approved major tax incentives for the company frustrated. In 2014 the Nevada Legislature approved $1.3 billion in tax incentives for Tesla’s Reno gigafactory. The Las Vegas Sun reports that during legislative debates over the incentive package, there was speculation that Tesla would boost the state’s lithium industry...

Ohm is a 6-pound drop-in replacement for your car battery. What's not to like about what it claims to deliver. It never needs jump-starting. Works on the coldest days (in temperatures as low as -40C). Lasts more than twice than lead-acid batteries, which go for three years. Here, you are looking at a 7-year average lifetime. No lead, no acid. When Ohm says it is a drop-in replacement they mean that it is installed in the same way. The site says to "remove the positive and negative leads from your old battery, drop in Ohm, and reattach the lead to...