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The battery's dead: Scientists invent wafer-thin plastic that can store electricity
Daily Mail (UK) ^
| 2/6/10
| David Derbyshire
Posted on 02/06/2010 11:44:40 AM PST by ruralvoter
The battery, which has powered our lives for generations, may soon be consigned to the dustbin of history.
British scientists say they have created a plastic that can store and release electricity, revolutionising the way we use phones, drive cars - and even wear clothes.
It means the cases of mobiles and iPods could soon double up as their power source - leading to gadgets as thin as credit cards.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; News/Current Events; Technical
KEYWORDS: alternativeenergy; battery; electricity; hitech; supercapacitor
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To: ruralvoter
Every few months we get a story about new battery or battery replacement technology and it never goes anywhere.
Zzzzz.
2
posted on
02/06/2010 11:50:37 AM PST
by
Terpfen
(FR is being Alinskied. Remember, you only take flak when you're over the target.)
To: ruralvoter
Plastic? Can’t use plastic. Plastic comes from big bad oil. No No No....not plastic.
3
posted on
02/06/2010 11:53:46 AM PST
by
GrannyAnn
4
posted on
02/06/2010 11:55:01 AM PST
by
Britt0n
To: ruralvoter
How much of a charge can it hold. There are stories of paper based batteries as well. Don’t see those in my cell phone.
5
posted on
02/06/2010 11:55:59 AM PST
by
driftdiver
(I could eat it raw, but why do that when I have a fire.)
To: ruralvoter
Not a new battery invention!
It's not a battery - it's just a capacitor using new material and capacitor-held energy can be quite dangerous.
This isn't going to fly any better than prior capacitive storage schemes to replace batteries.
6
posted on
02/06/2010 11:57:05 AM PST
by
Ron C.
To: ruralvoter
Dr Emile Greenhalgh, from Imperial College London's Department of Aeronautics, said the material is not really a battery, but a supercapacitor - similar to those found in typical electrical circuits. This could be great. No more nasty heavy metals like Cadmium going in to land fills.
7
posted on
02/06/2010 11:57:37 AM PST
by
Pontiac
To: ruralvoter
"It's only 'wafer thin.'"
8
posted on
02/06/2010 11:58:29 AM PST
by
dfwgator
To: ruralvoter
The battery's dead: Scientists invent wafer-thin plastic that can store electricity Catchy headline -- but a battery, no matter what its chemical composition or whether it produces or stores electricity, is still called a battery ....
To: ruralvoter
I’ll believe it when I see them on the store shelves.
10
posted on
02/06/2010 12:03:20 PM PST
by
DGHoodini
(Iran Azadi!)
To: Ron C.
"It's not a battery - it's just a capacitor using new material and capacitor-held energy can be quite dangerous. " Precisely. Capacitors are the primary reason that people who are not very familiar with electrical circuits should NEVER remove the back back of high-energy electronics, like televisions.
To: ruralvoter
It will have to undergo a battery of tests before marketing.
12
posted on
02/06/2010 12:04:45 PM PST
by
Ken H
(Debt free is the way to be)
To: driftdiver
It is actually not a battery but a capacitor.
13
posted on
02/06/2010 12:04:59 PM PST
by
Blood of Tyrants
(Truth - Reality through the eyes of God.)
To: ruralvoter
His team's prototype - which is around five inches square and wafer-thin - takes five seconds to charge from a normal power supply and can light an LED for 20 minutes.
Assuming a 10-milliamp load from the LED, a 20-minute run time for this device equates to a capacity of:
10 mA * 0.333 hours = 3.333 mAh
For comparison, a common non-rechargeable alkaline AA battery typically has a capacity of about 2700 mAh.
14
posted on
02/06/2010 12:06:43 PM PST
by
Bob
To: ruralvoter
I remember back in the 70’s “futurists” were claiming we would be eating food made from plastic.
15
posted on
02/06/2010 12:08:11 PM PST
by
henkster
(A broken government does not merit full faith and credit.)
To: GrannyAnn
Plus there are toxins in plastic that could KILL someone after approximately 77 years of prolonged exposure.
16
posted on
02/06/2010 12:08:35 PM PST
by
dr_who
To: henkster
They are, arn’t they? The cheese on pizzas, it’s either plastic or dirt now
17
posted on
02/06/2010 12:10:44 PM PST
by
1000 silverlings
(everything that deceives, also enchants: Plato)
To: SunkenCiv; neverdem; snarks_when_bored; Fred Nerks; FredZarguna; Physicist; The_Reader_David; ...
Like, *PING*, folks.
Cheers!
18
posted on
02/06/2010 12:10:46 PM PST
by
grey_whiskers
(The opinions are solely those of the author and are subject to change without notice.)
To: Bob
five inches square and wafer-thin
I used to have a bunch of those...they went in a slot on the keyboard..
19
posted on
02/06/2010 12:16:16 PM PST
by
visualops
(Freepin' on my Pre!)
To: 1000 silverlings
Oh, you mean the “pasteurized processed cheese food composed of partially hydrogenated vegetable oil.” Yeah, I see what you mean.
Oh well, I’ll just pour me a whiskey and “carbonated flavored beverage sweetened with high fructose corn syrup.”
20
posted on
02/06/2010 12:16:50 PM PST
by
henkster
(A broken government does not merit full faith and credit.)
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