Foldable paper-thin battery. Revolution?
US researchers say they have invented a lightweight paper battery that could serve as an enhanced power storage device for the next generation of consumer electronic devices. The battery produces electricity in the same way as the conventional lithium-ion batteries that power so many of today’s gadgets, but all the components have been incorporated into a lightweight, flexible sheet of paper. An early prototype of the device, just big enough to be held between thumb and forefinger, kicks out 2.5 volts, enough juice to power a small fan, or illuminate a light, and its inventors say the battery can be easily scaled up to provide enough power to run any number of electronic gadgets.
“You can stack one sheet on top of another to boost the power output,” said Robert Linhardt, a biology and chemistry professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, and a project team member. “We’ve already experimented with 10 sheets, but there’s nothing to stop you using 500, and they can be rolled, bent or folded into any shape or space you like. There are endless design possibilities.” The device can function in temperatures of 300 degrees Fahrenheit and down to 100 below zero, and was engineered to function as both a battery and a supercapacitor, a device that charges almost instantaneously and is often used for industrial applications. Wow, can you imagine iPod Pico with that?
Source: TG Daily, SMH
Comments(27)
cant imagine an ipod with it because ipods are utter shit, but i can imagine high quality mp3 players with that
I think its nice that you guys post stuff like this, interesting and revolutionary discoveries and not just releases. To me it´s what makes this site stand out from the rest. Good work.
So how long will it take before this hits the market?
Love posts like this!
good stuff
gna take spans for something like this to hit the market, esp cause its made from carbon nanotubes which are very expensive right now…
This is freaking awesome
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Can’t wait for the huge battery life we will have in the near future.
About friggin time we have a battery revolution
Sounds possible… All go sooooo small these days ^^ o.O higher possibility to lose something. mmm… and where did I lose my phone?!?!
@crimson:if only the rest of the world would figure that out, or at least do some research before jumping on the bandwagon.
Should be available worldwide just in time to power the mobile phone which is the size of a stick of gum….
He he…
SuperMovieFan : fortunately no hype lives forever
Just what I’ve been waiting for – battery powered toiletpaper!
Would’nt be to excited about it anything its in will initialy cost a fortune.
@crimson: Nothing does
@James At the beginning is more than probable…:D Besides can ou imagine some ‘cool guy’ that says: Oooh look, I have iPod-fuckin-pico with a battery that I can wipe m ass with! Rotfl
Yeah about fucking time too. My girlfriends 4gb Ipod Nano last about 1 fuckin hour. Sucks my dick! The battery is shite as well!
@Anathema
Well that’s nice of her.
@17 ^^ LMAO
paper battery + heat = flammable?
I doubt I would trust a paper battery until extensive test buy other science people.
HM, ten thousand of those stacked together could maybe power a car?
What about cell/ppc/laptop encased with composite of this material on place of useless plastic? Not to mention- it charges almost instantly.
yeah… it charges almost instantly… but how fast does it DISCHARGE? it’d be nice to have a stack of 10,000 of them.. and yeah, that could power a car, but you all aren’t asking the right questions.. what is the mAh rating of these things? how much POWER (not to be confused with voltage) do they actually produce.. and how long can they sustain it? What good is a battery that charges almost instantly if it has to be charged 10 seconds after using it?
@ whoever said something about heat/fire… think about this for a second.. when’s the last time you’ve seen ANY battery get to 140+ degrees farenheit w/o exploding first? Paper has a relatively high flashpoint.. meaning that if the battery were to catch on fire b/c of heat, whatever it was powering would most likely be fried too. Common sense, my friend… not to mention, there are already cellphones and other menial electronics on the market that the circuit boards in them ARE MADE FROM PAPER, printed with conductive ink, folded, and placed lovingly in your POS prepaid cell phone.
I think that’s the end of this rant… maybe more to come.
It’s not actually made from paper, you know.
More likely these will be used in things like cards with sound chips, keyrings and such. What’s the point of putting super-thin batteries in regular devices unless they last longer than normal batteries? And if they DO last longer than normal batteries, why aren’t they making normal batteries out of them?
When is the electric car going to be back? oil companies killed it before even though there were already batteries capable of giving the electric car 500Km of autonomy.
with this, it would have 1000Km!
@duhval rofl. My renault barely manages 500km with a full gas tank in city traffic. Electric cars would be nice… kinda makes me hope we run out of oil sooner!
@19 – paper battery + heat = flammable?
I doubt I would trust a paper battery until extensive test buy other science people.
“The device can function in temperatures of 300 degrees Fahrenheit and down to 100 below zero”
Well don’t know about you but I would think that should be ok… unless your planning on using it as a electronic BBQ ;P