Slashdot Mirror
Batteries Continue To Suck
pvt_medic writes "As technology continues to grow, and we see more and more of a shift to portable electronic devices in our daily life, we are still constricted by one simple thing: Batteries. Newsweek has an interesting article about the lack of development in battery technology. 'Ironically, in our headlong rush to create sophisticated untethered computing, the most problematic technology turns out also to be the oldest: those nondescript metal cylinders that never seemed to be included with our Christmas toys.' And for those of you who would like an extensive overview about batteries, ExtremeTech.com has a nice overview."
*nod* wtf?
StarManta
I don't think BMW has ever complained about their 2% marketshare. Neither has Apple.
The Energy Crisis on Your Lap
Newsweek Web Exclusive
Let's face it: the biggest challenge for advanced road warriors today isn't finding the nearest WiFi hotspot. It's making sure that the battery doesn't run out in the middle of a crucial download. Ironically, in our headlong rush to create sophisticated untethered computing, the most problematic technology turns out also to be the oldest: those nondescript metal cylinders that never seemed to be included with our Christmas toys.
SUDDENLY, HOWEVER, the quest for long-lasting portable power is on everyone's mind, from blue-chip Silicon Valley venture capital firms to Japanese giants like Sony and Toshiba. And it looks like there are only two options: continued improvements in existing technology, or a major breakthrough, most likely miniature fuel cells that produce electricity using methanol as fuel.
Batteries are a very old technology--2,000 years ago, jewelers in Baghdad apparently used simple batteries to electroplate their creations with thin layers of gold or silver. The technology was reinvented early in the eighteenth century, when Alessandro Volta demonstrated the first Voltaic cell for Napoleon Bonaparte, giving us both the concept of the battery and the name of the unit by which electric potential is measured. In the 200 years since, the fundamental concept hasn't much changed--only the materials within have evolved, growing increasingly exotic and culminating in the current power champion, lithium-ion.
But at present there's not another new battery ingredient on the horizon that can substantially beat lithium-ion. And that's a major problem. Moore's Law states that the complexity of circuits doubles every 18 months, while on average battery capacity increases only 5 percent to 10 percent a year. Generally speaking, the more complex a circuit--specifically, the more transistors on a microprocessor--the more current it will draw. Now add to that the new demands of wireless computing, which uses additional power to transmit and receive, and it's pretty clear we're approaching a major energy crisis in the portable world.
Already laptop manufacturers use every trick they can think of to minimize power consumption--the category of "power management" chips has become a booming business for semiconductor manufacturers. These chips work behind the scenes to adjust a computer's performance in various ways to maximize battery life.
The next step will be to build power management chips directly into batteries. These chips will actually keep track of how the battery is being used and then adjust the recharging cycle appropriately. They'll also allow very accurate "fuel gauges"--as opposed to the current battery life estimation software on laptops, which tends to have little to do with reality. Those "smart batteries" will even keep track of their usage and let owners know exactly when they need to be replaced. Of course, those batteries will also be smart enough to tell your computer what brand of replacement battery you've purchased--making it more difficult for consumers to buy cheaper aftermarket batteries.
Beyond smart batteries, however, is a whole new world: the miniature fuel cell. A number of U.S. startups, along with major Japanese electronics companies, are all intent on turning the fuel cell into a replacement for batteries. Fuel cells, of course, are more commonly thought of as powering electric automobiles. But a variety of technical advances have now made smaller fuel cells feasible and while no one has yet made one small enough to match the size of a current laptop battery, they're getting closer. Last February George W. Bush actually made a call from the White House on a cell phone powered by a miniature fuel cell--although he had to hold the phone in one hand and the fuel cell in the other.
In theory, a fuel cell could power a laptop for days on a single fueling. Most likely the fuel would be methanol, probably sold in tiny pressurized containers like the canisters used to refill cigarette ligh
this is mid 2001.
get up with the play motherfuckers
The reason girls and Windows users don't understand UNIX is because all the documentation is in Man files.