Posted on 03/29/2005 4:39:08 PM PST by PeaceBeWithYou
The new battery fuses Toshiba's latest advances in nano-material technology for the electric devices sector with cumulative know-how in manufacturing lithium-ion battery cells. A breakthrough technology applied to the negative electrode uses new nano-particles to prevent organic liquid electrolytes from reducing during battery recharging. The nano-particles quickly absorb and store vast amount of lithium ions, without causing any deterioration in the electrode.The excellent recharging characteristics of new battery are not its only performance advantages. The battery has a long life cycle, losing only 1% of capacity after 1,000 cycles of discharging and recharging, and can operate at very low temperatures. At minus 40 degrees centigrade, the battery can discharge 80% of its capacity, against 100% in an ambient temperature of 25 degree centigrade).
Toshiba will bring the new rechargeable battery to commercial products in 2006. Initial applications will be in the automotive and industrial sectors, where the slim, small-sized battery will deliver large amounts of energy while requiring only a minute to recharge. For example, the battery's advantages in size, weight and safety highly suit it for a role as an alternative power source for hybrid electric vehicles.
Toshiba expects that the high energy density and excellent recharge performance of the new battery will assure its successful application as a new energy solution in many areas of society.
Major Specifications of New Battery
1) Excellent Recharge Performance
The thin battery recharges to 80% of full capacity in only a minute. Total recharge takes only a few more minutes.2) High Energy Density
Small and light, the new battery offers a high level of storage efficiency. The prototype battery is only 3.8mm thick, 62mm high and 35mm deep and has a capacity of 600mAh.3) Long Life Cycle
A prototype of new battery (a laminated lithium ion battery with 600mAh capacity) was discharged and fully recharged 1,000 times at a temperature of 25 degrees centigrade and lost only 1% of capacity during the test.4) Temperature
The new battery operates well in extremes of temperature. It discharges 80% of its capacity at minus 40 degrees centigrade, against 100% at an ambient temperature of 25 degrees centigrade, and loses only 5% of capacity at temperatures as high as 45 degrees centigrade after 1,000 cycles. These characteristics assure the wide applicability of the battery as a power source for products as diverse as hybrid vehicles and mobile phones.5) Eco-friendly Battery
The new battery can quickly store energy produced by locomotives and automobiles. This speedy and highly effective recharge characteristic of the battery will support CO2 reduction, as the battery can save and re-use energy that was simply wasted before.Comparison in Terms of Energy Density and Recharge
Tech ping
I wonder how scalable it is. How big can we make it, and what kinds of things could we power with it? (...besides notebook computers, cells, PDAs, etc.)
62 x 35 x 3.8 millimeters thick. It should be fully scalable as they talk about use on locomotives and automobiles.
awesome
How long does it take a capacitor to charge?
How many cells could a capacitor charge if a capacitor could charge cells?
This means endless possibilities for Hillary's vib...I mean, toy.
;^)
Me neither...
From the graph.
Close to the same amount of time, with much greater energy density.
But can we afford them? How much would a 40 KW battery made of these cells co$t?
BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHA!
Ahem. In most circles, that would tend to be my point.
Well, I'm missing your point, or you are confused about how to read a simple graph. Care to explain?
Of course they are positive and negative, it's a battery! Duhhh
Ugh ... you must have been sleeping during science class. Organtic electrolytes reduce the rate of charge/discharge by virtue of their inherent resistance. The nano-particles have GREATER SURFACE AREA, ergo by being teeny-tiny; they allow more and better contacts to the electrodes. This creates millions of parallel/series resistances; yielding an overal lower series resistance. This gives the battery a LOWER SERIES RESISTANCE.
The batteries internal series reistance is consists of the resistance of the electrodes, the ease at which the chemicals ionize, and the loss due to heating (by means of the chemical process).
When you charge your car battery, the battery does not charge instantly, you will see a limitation (based upon the charging voltage). Do some simple calculations (V=IR) and I'm certain you will figure out your battery's internal resistance. All batteries have them, it's unavoidable.
The quick charging has nothing to do with the internal resistance.
Before you flame, you may want to learn a little bit about this yourself. I'm an electrical engineer. I know what I'm talking about; you appear to be rude and haven't a clue what you are talking about. Series resistance DEFINES how much power the battery can pass during a charge and discharge. The charging internal resistance does not have to equal the discharging internal resistance; but they are pretty close (considering hysteresis losses and such). Internal resistance is not fixed, it varies with temperature and overall battery charge.
What I am saying is that a battery that can charge up to 80% in a minute, has a very low inherent series resistance. This also means that it can discharge about the same speed. Now, the battery may have a current flow regulator, that prevents this; but the battery itself can move a lot of current quickly. This makes this battery very unique, but also more dangerous than the conventional over the counter re-chargeable battery.
BUMP!
Also the internal resistance of Li-Ion batteries are lower than that of NiCad, NiMH, and lead acids already. You can get pretty rapid discharge from a raw cell, and most have some internal circuitry to prevent that from occuring.
This new battery sounds closer to the ultra capacitors that came out a few years back. Perhaps they'll have a better future.
Oh, I think they will be a boon; thats for certain.
But the danger I worry about revolves around the very low effective series resistance of the battery. Presently, if a cell phone battery internally shorts and catestrophically fails; the heat will burn your skin. One does not have to search very hard to find cases in which people have been hospitalized with 1st, 2nd or 3rd degree burns. Skin grafts are not rare in these cases.
But, now with the 'new' batteries; the energy released in the exothermic event is now released much, much quicker. So, instead of carrying an incendary device on your belt; you may be carrying a small hand gernade.
That is what I was trying to say in eloquent terms. If the energy is released slowly, you get burned. If the energy is released quickly, the cell phone/battery will explode. Same release of energy, the difference is the rate at which it is released; which goes back to my statement regarding the battery's internal effective resistance.
Or to say it another way; a 1800 mah rated battery contains the same amount of energy, without regard to being Ni-cad, Li-on, or other chemical makeup. If the battery charges quickly, it's effective series resistance HAS to be low. (The ESR current limits the charge/discharge rate) If it has a low ESR (effective series resistance), it can also discharge very rapidly. If you burn a tablespoon of gasoline, you will get a quantifiable amount of energy from the combustion. IF you vaporize the gasoline before igniting it, the same amount of energy is released, but when it detonates it will release the energy much quicker. Sometimes fast isn't good.
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