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Micro Fuel Cells surge with power to spare
OogamrM writes "CNN (http://www.cnn.com) has a story (http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/ptech/09/22/micro.fu el.cells.ap/index.html) about a new generation of fuel cells. They are so small that they are expected to be able to replace batteries in mobile phone and notebook PCs, and last 10 times as long as the best batteries available today. "In the long run, just about anywhere where high-end batteries are the right answer, these devices should be a better answer," say one fuel cell developer. Expect to be able to buy one sometime in 2004."
Several companies already make commercially-available large solid-state flash disks. They come in IDE and SCSI, sizes down to 2.5" IDE form factor that fits in notebooks, and sizes as large as 77G (in 3.5" ultra scsi). Some of the manufacturers have even solved the write-cycle problem by having a block remapper that evens out the writes, making it a non-issue. Other benefits over regular drives (besides the low power, low heat, and no moving parts to break), is that the latency can be in the low microseconds, and the sustained transfer rates can match the bus speed in most cases.
The only real caveat remaining is the cost. They're running in the range of $1-2/MB on the smaller ones (1-4G range), so even a little 4 gigger can cost obver $4k. Haven't seen prices on the larger capacities, hopefully it scales better up there, and the 77g drives don't cost more than a really nice car.
11*43+456^2
Much more disposable than most current rechargeables. Nickel, lead, cadmium? Yummy! Lithium oxide neutralizes down to a salt in any acid, so LiION batts aren't too bad, but all these have is generally a platinum catalyst(in the reformer) and an organic membrane(the actual fuel cell), The fuel can fit in anything that isn't dissolved by methanol and makes a good seal.
Unfortunately, I expect these to be like inkjet cartridges, and since they're useful for so many more applications than that (all electronics use electricity, only inkjets use inkjet cartridges). The stakes are higher, and they'll probably bust ass trying to keep them from being refilled. Maybe special regulatory authority under "safety" concerns. My hope is, though, that public outcry about paying USD 40 for USD 0.002 worth of methanol will get regulatory action. It'll just be a matter of whether we're madder than the fuel cell makers are willing to bribe and politicians are greedy. Maybe it will balance out around USD10 or so.
Extra CO2? What do you mean generating extra CO2?
How do you think the electricity that charges your current rechargable batteries is generated?
By burning fossil fuels producing CO2!
This time you just burn it locally. Plant trees locally to make up for it if you are that worried.
Sam
blog.sam.liddicott.com