« Penryn-Based Notebooks to be Released | Home
Silicon Nanowires to Boost Laptop Battery Life to 20 Hours
By Robert | January 9, 2008
Researchers at Stanford discovered a clever way to utilize silicon nanowires to reinvent regular rechargeable lithium-ion batteries that usually power laptops, video cameras, mobile phones, iPods and various other similar devices. Research was led by Yi Cui, assistant professor of materials science and engineering and it highlights a new version that actually produces 10 times the amount of regular electricity that exists in lithium-ion. This basically means that a laptop that was previously able to run 2 hours on a full charge could now get up to 20 hours, something that was previously only a happy thought for businessmen and regular users alike. According to Cui, his exact words were that this research brought a result that “is not a small improvement, it’s a revolutionary development”.
Another interesting thing is that this breakthrough could also bring in the attention of car manufacturers. Nanowire technology combined with Lithium Ion can be utilized in offices and homes in order to store electricity generated by solar panels. Cui added that the technology can be brought to life really quick because of the mature infrastructure that is behind silicon. Technically speaking, the electrical storage capacity of Li-ion batteries is limited to the amount of lithium that can be held in the anode, typically made of carbon. Silicon comes with a higher capacity than carbon but will also bring in one flaw. Silicon has the property of swelling as it absorbs lithium atoms that are positively charged while charging, while shrinking during use. This change can lead to the silicon pulverizing, thus degrading the performance of the battery. Such a problem is eliminated with the use of nanotechnology and use of silicon nanowires. They do not fracture while swelling so this solves the problem. Cui said that a patent application has already been filed and we can expect production to start once it is approved and a manufacturer is contracted.
Topics: Hardware Reviews |
New Sony PSP Extended Life Battery KitNo 3G For The iPhone In The UKHP’s New laptop lineupSoftware That Doubles Mobile Phone Memory
