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End of Batteries?: Huge breakthrough


seeder

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END OF BATTERIES: Huge breakthrough means you'll be able to charge your phone in SECONDS
SCIENTISTS tonight hailed one of the biggest technological advancements in years as they unveiled a revolutionary new gadget which could make batteries redundant forever.

British boffins said the futuristic system will allow people to fully charge mobile phones and laptops in seconds and could make petrol powered cars redundant within decades.

Experts predicted it will have a “seismic impact” on people’s everyday lives and said it represents the biggest leap in electrical storage since the battery was invented in 1800.

http://www.express.co.uk/news/science/740174/Battery-breakthrough-supercapacitor-technology-revolutionise-mobile-phones-electric-cars

 

 

 

 

Edited by seeder
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If they can prove these claims this is certainly something to get hyped up over.  Assuming they can be mass produced at an affordable rate and aren't so delicate that they're prone to exploding/discharging their yield with some rough handling anyway.

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Looks good ... from the Battery University ...

 

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Discover how the supercapacitor can enhance the battery.

The supercapacitor, also known as ultracapacitor or double-layer capacitor, differs from a regular capacitor in that it has very high capacitance. A capacitor stores energy by means of a static charge as opposed to an electrochemical reaction. Applying a voltage differential on the positive and negative plates charges the capacitor. This is similar to the buildup of electrical charge when walking on a carpet. Touching an object releases the energy through the finger.

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Advantages

Virtually unlimited cycle life; can be cycled millions of time

High specific power; low resistance enables high load currents

Charges in seconds; no end-of-charge termination required

Simple charging; draws only what it needs; not subject to overcharge

Safe; forgiving if abused

Excellent low-temperature charge and discharge performance

Limitations

Low specific energy; holds a fraction of a regular battery

Linear discharge voltage prevents using the full energy spectrum

High self-discharge; higher than most batteries

Low cell voltage; requires series connections with voltage balancing

High cost per watt

Table 4: Advantages and limitations of supercapacitors.

Last updated 2016-05-13

 

  • Battery University link

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And its been in the works and on the board for a long time so ... its about dang time ...

 

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Supercapacitor

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

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Capacitors hey?

Interesting, they do not hold much, as the article states, the Chinese prototypes are not all that successful.

I hope they can work it out, if they can hold a decent charge, and trickle it back out, it would be brilliant.

When I was in college (trade school) we used to charge up little capacitors in electronics class at the power points at our desk

Then you look for a mate, throw the capacitor to him and yell CATCH

:devil:

Mean trick, but funny as all heck. Tiny capacitors, just enough for a bite, but I can attest, they DO hold a charge!! 

Edited by psyche101
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Man, that is a terribly written article. There are absolutely NO specifics given and only vague descriptions.
The few specifics given are very confusing: The article does mention Dr. Brendan Howlin (Surrey) and Dr. Ian Hamerton (Bristol) as project leads.

Dr. Brendan Howlin does computer modelling for polymers and nothing in his recent publication list points to energy related materials (see here).

Dr. Ian Hamerton also seems to specialize in computer modelling, and nothing in his recent publication list or the description of his current research areas points to energy related materials either (see here).

Neither University of Surrey's Chem Department nor the Aerospace Engineering Department at Bristol University seem to have a recent press release related to this topic.

Augmented Optics Inc., the company mentioned at the end of the article, does seem to be a real UK company (see here) but does not seem to have a website, or have any other information available. The company has existed for 3 years but does not seem to have any evidence of actually doing any business or research.

Unless these three parties somehow had a sudden inspiration, I don't see how they combine to make a breakthrough new technology.

I suspect that Howlin and Hamerton found a polymer that has the potential for improved energy storage. It does not seem that Howlin or Hamerton actually make devices, so this improvement is probably hypothetical.

I suspect that Augmented Optics Inc. is at best a ``research reactor'' that makes prototypes and sells the tech to larger companies, or at worst is a patent troll; and approached Howlin and Hamerton for their research results.

I suspect that this hype-ridden, detail-free, "news" article is just to drum up investor interest for Augmented Optics Inc.

Supercapacitors are a potential game-changer for energy storage, but I can't find any evidence that this latest story is anything to get excited about, nor will result in a product any time soon.

Edited by sepulchrave
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So.. the limitations of the super capacitor are:

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Low specific energy; holds a fraction of a regular battery

Linear discharge voltage prevents using the full energy spectrum

High self-discharge; higher than most batteries

Low cell voltage; requires series connections with voltage balancing

High cost per watt

 

Well, they sound extremely familiar..  indeed they would as they are exactly the limitations that capacitors have *currently*, and that prevent them from consideration as a useful battery.  The first two and the last one in particular are killers...  So in other words, these new ones are similarly useless?  It really is a woeful article, and when added to those new full-page ads that the Express thinks are cool, I think I might pass on any future poorly written articles from them.

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3 hours ago, psyche101 said:

Capacitors hey?

Interesting, they do not hold much, as the article states, the Chinese prototypes are not all that successful.

I hope they can work it out, if they can hold a decent charge, and trickle it back out, it would be brilliant.

When I was in college (trade school) we used to charge up little capacitors in electronics class at the power points at our desk

Then you look for a mate, throw the capacitor to him and yell CATCH

:devil:

Mean trick, but funny as all heck. Tiny capacitors, just enough for a bite, but I can attest, they DO hold a charge!! 

Ahhh fond memories indeed.. we did the same thing.

And sometimes we chased eachother with the megger :D
 

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18 hours ago, Rofflaren said:

Ahhh fond memories indeed.. we did the same thing.

And sometimes we chased eachother with the megger :D
 

Ohh yeah!! 

The old hold the prongs out and call the apprentice - here, hold these for a sec would ya .......

LOL :D Ahh, the days ...... :devil: 

I think my best apprentice prank was when I had one of them wandering the site for about 2 hours asking every tradesman on site if he could borrow the "9 inch copulation tool" - the tradesmen played along, it was downright hilarious. I remember one saying, Nah, I saw Tommo with one this morning, and then he put it back in his pocket try him, I only have a 7 inch on me !!! :w00t: Classic. 

Edited by psyche101
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