Saturday, August 20, 2011

Batteries That Can Charge Faster?

Scientist are in the works on batteries that can charge faster.  How much faster?  How about minutes rather than hours?  This new technology is something else.  They are working towards using it in Electric cars.  Imagine a time when you can charge your Electric car while you're in the store purchasing a soda.  This would make traveling with them a whole lot easier.  The Problem?

One of the problems remains in the cost of the product.  Graphene is a relatively expensive product, but the company that produces it, is working on ways to drastically reduce the cost in 1-3 years.  Graphene research has been going on for a while now, yet they have now the ability to make life a lot easier.  Who needs a fuel pump when you can plug in your car?

The secret to these Energy Storage Devices, is not really that much of a secret.  It's ability to charge quickly lies in the large surface areas of the Anodes and Cathodes.  This allows faster transfer of the Ions needed to power the battery.

So far, studies have been done on 1,000 cycles and 2,000 cycles.  The 1,000 cycle study has showed positive results and a 95% retaining of the charge.  This is great news for Electric car drivers.  Like every other rechargeable battery, there is going to be some wear and tear.  So, they'll probably have to be replaced every few years.

Now, just combine these with Solar panels and you'll have endless possibilities.  They'll be able to be used right along side solar and wind units.  What do you think?  Will Electric Car manufactures be adding these along with solar panels to their cars in the future?  Just the Batteries, or do you think that Solar Panels alone will last a while?

This article was in reference to an article written on Physorg

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