Posted on 02/23/2013 12:51:19 PM PST by Para-Ord.45
Some of the great scientific breakthroughs of the last century came about entirely by accident. Many of you are probably familiar with the origins of the Post It Note, and how it was invented as a result of a failure when attempting to create a super strong adhesive. Well, there may be another such story taking place in the present day. Scientists working with carbon compounds developed Graphene, a safe substance with a lot of structural strength for very little mass and weight. And then some wise guy discovered that it had another use.
The recap: Graphene, a very simple carbon polymer, can be used as the basic component of a “supercapacitor” — an electrical power storage device that charges far more rapidly than chemical batteries. Unlike other supercapacitors, though, graphene’s structure also offers a high “energy density,” — it can hold a lot of electrons, meaning that it could conceivably rival or outperform batteries in the amount of charge it can hold. Kaner Lab researcher Maher El-Kady found a way to create sheets of graphene a single carbon atom thick by covering a plastic surface with graphite oxide solution and bombarding it with precisely controlled laser light. That last sentence may sound pretty complicated, but the article’s author provides a translation for the layman.
He painted a DVD with a liquid carbon solution and stuck it into a standard-issue DVD burner. The result was a shockingly thin supercapacitor which could store up a large amount of electrical energy in no time flat. The potential for this sort of discovery should be obvious. Unlike heavy metal batteries, the carbon compound is biodegradable and cheap to manufacture. And a battery made of layers of this material could charge your cell phone for a full day’s use in – wait for it – two seconds. A ramped up version could charge an electric car in a minute or two. (No word on how likely it will be to catch on fire, but bonus points if it doesn’t.)
Here’s the video I mentioned. It’s not long and explains the process better than I ever could. I have to say, this is pretty exciting stuff if it comes to fruition.
http://vimeo.com/51873011
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You are way above my pay grade asking that question. For Dumb I am.
Did have a profession once who stated ... here is the deal ... man can survive within this temperature range, and fluctuation stated as moderate range to upper range of 130 through cold range to zero and a bit lower with shelter if water, heat and energy supply of food can be attained in cold index and add cooling in heat index. The professor then said these are the energy heat indexes and chill index fluctuations of the planet on which we reside, approximately. To form civilization the moderate range of fifty degrees Fahrenheit to ninety five degrees Fahrenheit promotes the better opportunity to survive and for a civilization to flourish. Then the profession simply said ... Good Luck.
Turns out we and our progeny all have " Good Luck ".
Should we all enjoy personal Liberty, so much the better...
Think more ‘blast shield’. Again, didn’t say it can’t be engineered around, but it’s a well known problem for all capacitors.
No gunpowder?
What would the batfe do?
They don’t get involved with non gunpowder projectile weapons do they?
Hybrids area good idea, sometimes.
And I can remember my computer programming instructor back in 1974 telling us that my TI hand held calculator will be the only computer I will ever need..........
Do they offer a free 30-day supply of enzyte from Smilin’ Bob!?
To be series ... Did not see one for enzyte and I watch the whole thing. Oh boy, getting active close by again ... blue light specials.
I was waiting for EEstor to actually deliver a car system like on the movie “Demolition Man”, which were “not” supposed to explode. Actually, such a storage system could be reconfigured to produce a soft x-ray / ultraviolet flash, in addition to a bang. Poor mans pocket-nuke.
Yup. I learned programming on a Univac 1100 half word machine, including BAL, Cobol and RPG. Landed my first computer job right after graduation in Jan 73. It was on an IBM/360 card machine and my first programming task was a BAL application. Luckily for me, the Univac training was perfect preparation for the job and all went well. Later converted to IBM System/3 and RPG II, then also took on BTI (Basic Timing Sharing, Inc., based on HP mini-computer technology), then PDP 11 (RSTS and Basic Plus), followed by VAX/VMX. Was producing and distributing VAX systems when I was introduced to the Internet world by my son and fellow programmer (John) around 1994/95 timeframe. Developed (hacked together) the original FR forum software in 1996.
We were developing agricultural accounting applications in the latter seventies on BTI timesharing computers when we first encountered a thing called “micro-computer.” One of the programmers in my department purchased one and formed a competing company, but PCs came shortly after and even though we mocked them as toys at the time, they eventually put us both out of business.
Never got very interested in the TI handhelds, but several of the programmers I worked with got very involved with building their own “home computers” from kits before the PC came out. Lots of exciting developments in those days. We even had micro computer stores and clubs. Crazy fad would never catch on.
Should be fairly easy...bundle the device with a discharge circuit that will slowly eke out the desired voltage.
Maybe a future high energy weapon here? Light, easy to carry and very deadly?
Better yet a capacitor exploding while attatched to a transformer or series of transformers..... EMP bomb
86, that is a good thing. As you are likely aware, there are many different materials and configurations. Large increases in power density typically means much more reactive and prone to catastrophic failure. Some experimental configurations and materials have proven extremely reactive. There have been more than a few “safety” problems and failures reported.
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