Battery that 'charges in seconds'

[madokie]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7938001.stm


Geoff Brumfiel from Nature discusses how the new batteries work
A new manufacturing method for lithium-ion batteries could lead to smaller, lighter batteries that can be charged in just seconds.

Batteries that discharge just as quickly would be useful for electric and hybrid cars, where a quick jolt of charge is needed for acceleration.

The approach only requires simple changes to the production process of a well-known material.

The new research is reported in the scientific journal Nature.
Because of the electronic punch that they pack, gram for gram, lithium-ion batteries are the most common rechargeable batteries found in consumer electronics, such as laptops.

[MADem]

1. YAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!!!!!!!! That would be wonderful!!!!!!!!

What is more, because there are relatively few changes to the standard manufacturing process, Professor Ceder believes the new battery material could make it to market within two to three years.

[Old Codger]

2. Hmmmm

Sounds a lot like a capacitor .......

[madokie]

3. Yes it does

except this is with a much more friendlier voltage

[Old Codger]

6. Ok I'll bite

In what way is this more "friendlier voltage" we have had capacitors for a long time, lately I have heard a lot of this about batteries that discharge faster, another one not too long ago about a capacitor that discharged slower but charged fast( not sure where) seems like that would be the ideal...charging times are one of the main obstacles in this endeavor...

[madokie]

7. A 12 volt capacitor that would hold the same amount of energy as a 12 volt battery does

would be very large. So for a capacitor to save a large amount of energy they generally work at a higher voltage. Maybe someone with a little more knowledge than I possess can help us out with this understanding.

[Old Codger]

8. AFAIK

Capacitors cannot really be controlled, they discharge all at once, whereas batteries can be controlled.Capacitors charge almost all at once also,vs. batteries that take along time to charge also hold energy and allow for more or less slow discharge, What we need and what I think they may be working on is a battery that charges like a capacitor and discharges like a battery, a hybrid marriage of the technologies involved.

[madokie]

9. Isn't that pretty much what this battery does?

[IDemo]

10. A cap will discharge at a rate depending on the load

Unless you're talking about placing a direct short (0 Ohms) across a capacitor, it will not discharge all at once.

[madokie]

11. Yes

On one of my earlier projects I used a capacitor to hold in a coil that I was using to hold the throttle on the motor on my homemade welder with. I used an adjustable resister that allowed me to dial in the time that it would keep the motor running at welding speed so I could change rods, reposition or whatever.

[Old Codger]

12. Thank You

I thought that was all they were good for was rapid discharge .... I know they were used as ignition systems for a while and still may be as far as I know..

[leveymg]

4. I already have one of those batteries that discharges in seconds - in my laptop.

Never imagined that feature had a commercially useful purpose. ;-)

[IDemo]

5. It would only be useful for electric and hybrid cars

with the required storage capacity available from a charging station, certainly far more than available from a standard house electrical junction box. Even a large battery bank, unless it uses the same technology, shouldn't be discharged rapidly in such a manner. Shouldn't matter, though. Where do you want a rapid recharge? On the road, where recharging stations will be equipped with the extra storage. When you plug in the vehicle at home, presumably at night, time won't be an issue.