New Superbattery Charges Gadgets in Seconds

[Gravis]

www.techbeat.com/2013/04/new-superbattery-charges-gadgets-in-seconds/

Having enough battery power has always been a concern for users of mobile devices and for scientists in general. A new superbattery developed by University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign researchers can solve this problem once and for all.

The new lithium-ion microbattery is not only 2,000 times more powerful than any other batteries on the market, but also very small, only a tiny fraction of the batteries in use nowadays. The Illinois scientists are planning to shrink the battery even further, in order to make it fit into a device as thin as a credit card.

The tiny size was achieved by redesigning the battery’s poles, which are solid in traditional accumulators. The new battery’s anode and cathode are three-dimensional, porous structures which enable fast charging. This means the new invention offers more power and is able to recharge 1,000 times faster than other batteries. Scientists say the battery is also able to power up a smartphone in a matter of seconds, while actually jumpstarting a vehicle.

The Illinois University team led by Professor William King is now working to make the new technology available for widespread use, by creating an affordable and attractive product. There are some safety concerns regarding the battery, as the current electrolyte it uses is a combustible liquid substance. In small-scale batteries the risk is negligible, but the danger could become more significant in larger size accumulators. Professor King acknowledged the risks, but explained that he is planning to use a polymer-based electrolyte in future models in order to address all safety issues.

Scientists hope the new battery will be available to consumers in one or two years. Professor King said the technology will be first used to replace current supercapacitators in various electronics. Such a powerful battery could have virtually endless applications, allowing easy storage of energy and making it possible to power up several devices simultaneously with a single accumulator.

+++

Epic. I can see this making things like laptops so much more awesome if developed.

 

[Crystallas]

This is the same technique used in developing early LifePo batteries. It was all the rage, until batteries started exploding.

I like the weave method myself, but I'm more curious to know if they solved the stability issues that panasonic(and others) dumped millions into solving.

 

[clonetrooper264]

I'm curious to see how this pans out...UIUC EE majors are pretty darn good imo though, so I'm expecting good things

 

[Urblock]

This is the same technique used in developing early LifePo batteries. It was all the rage, until batteries started exploding.

I like the weave method myself, but I'm more curious to know if they solved the stability issues that panasonic(and others) dumped millions into solving.

The first thought I had was BOOM.

 

[brett05]

Why am I not at all surprised that those Illinois guys got this running in one of the Beckman Institute labs. First a web browser and now this.

 

[Stapler]

Why am I not at all surprised that those Illinois guys got this running in one of the Beckman Institute labs. First a web browser and now this.

Don't forget the creation of the HAL computer from 2001, a space odyssey ... U of I, Urbana Illinois. :buttrock:


I was born at the hospital on Univeristy ave, so you know they produce good stuff there.

 

[brett05]

Carle Clinic?

 

[94c4lt1]

Hope that the battery management ICs are up to the task. Part of the battery problems are due to the problems with battery management and allowing overcharging.

 

[R_Mac_1]

Carle Clinic?

If I'm not mistaken, isn't Provena on University as well, over by the Hampton Inn and Perkins?

...Tapatalking

 

[Stapler]

I remember when all that was farm land.

We had Carle and Mercy, depending on which side of the line you lived on. Unless you went crazy, in which case you went to Mercy's 5th floor regardless.

 

[Crystallas]

Hope that the battery management ICs are up to the task. Part of the battery problems are due to the problems with battery management and allowing overcharging.

Solutions do exist, although it wouldn't matter. The cycles potential speed and what physically exists don't have to match, because one limits the other. Kind of like having a 1000GB NIC device, but the bus speed is only a fraction of the top-end and still remaining limited to the network's speed.

In this case, the technology potential is University-speak to hype something up in order to gain more funding. Like I said, weaving is nothing new. Anyone who reads science periodicals should know this by now, as we're about 10 years behind on breakthroughs that have yet to hit the mainstream, that would also serve as an upgrade over available products. Which also could mean that by the time instant fill-to cathodes are ready, we might have something better, like a SALC(solar-ambient light cell) on demand, rendering batteries obsolete.

 

[94c4lt1]

Solutions do exist, although it wouldn't matter. The cycles potential speed and what physically exists don't have to match, because one limits the other. Kind of like having a 1000GB NIC device, but the bus speed is only a fraction of the top-end and still remaining limited to the network's speed.

In this case, the technology potential is University-speak to hype something up in order to gain more funding. Like I said, weaving is nothing new. Anyone who reads science periodicals should know this by now, as we're about 10 years behind on breakthroughs that have yet to hit the mainstream, that would also serve as an upgrade over available products. Which also could mean that by the time instant fill-to cathodes are ready, we might have something better, like a SALC(solar-ambient light cell) on demand, rendering batteries obsolete.

Exactly, just like the FIN-FET has been proven possible in the lab, but takes years or decades to actually emerge in semiconductors. Solar cells lack efficiency and, therefore, no one can corner the market on them. Theoretical and actual production science are two different animals and take years to develop. Once the 3 nanometer FIN-FET is in production, we should see increased processor speeds and decreased power usage. However, enhanced batteries and power management seem to be the final frontier where scientists can't seem to make the next step. Once that happens, some company is going to be very wealthy.

 

[ShiftyDevil]

Batteries? Pfffffft let me know when they harness zero point energy.

 

[Happy Human 1001]

could be used for this, unless they explode too much or aren't beer-proof
http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2013/04/29/budweiser-unveils-beer-glass-that-connects-to-facebook/

 

[FrenchieBully]

This and nuclear fusion would be the future of energy