I doubt you woke up this morning expecting to read an article about batteries on Towleroad, but a tipster sent this in to us and I think it's pretty exciting news. Via Daily Kos, some “revolutionary” innovations that will please anyone who uses an iPod, a cell phone, a laptop, even folks with electric cars:
“Stanford researchers have found a way to use silicon nanowires to reinvent the rechargeable lithium-ion batteries that power laptops, iPods, video cameras, cell phones, and countless other devices. The new version, developed through research led by Yi Cui, assistant professor of materials science and engineering, produces 10 times the amount of electricity of existing lithium-ion, known as Li-ion, batteries. A laptop that now runs on battery for two hours could operate for 20 hours, a boon to ocean-hopping business travelers.”
The secret is silicon nanowires rather than carbon lithium storage. Here's how it works:
“Silicon placed in a battery swells as it absorbs positively charged lithium atoms during charging, then shrinks during use (i.e., when playing your iPod) as the lithium is drawn out of the silicon. This expand/shrink cycle typically causes the silicon (often in the form of particles or a thin film) to pulverize, degrading the performance of the battery. Cui's battery gets around this problem with nanotechnology. The lithium is stored in a forest of tiny silicon nanowires, each with a diameter one-thousandth the thickness of a sheet of paper. The nanowires inflate four times their normal size as they soak up lithium. But, unlike other silicon shapes, they do not fracture.”
Daily Kos writes: “Standford's ten-times extra capacity also makes entirely new things possible, like electric airplanes, ships, hovercraft, helicopters, etc. It could make the internal combustion engine completely obsolete. And here's the kicker: This technology could be available in just a couple years, because all the elements – silicon, lithium, etc. – are fairly well understood already. The big losers in this race would be Detroit and Big Oil. Therefore, look for them to try stopping this amazing new invention from ever hitting the market.”
Stanford's nanowire battery holds 10 times the charge of existing ones [stanford news service]
Stanford Battery Breakthrough [daily kos]
