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Silicon As the New Lithium

Posted by kdawson on from the throw-the-sand-against-the-wind dept.

hduff writes "While lithium-ion batteries offer better performance than lead-acid or ni-cad batteries, the supply of lithium is limited and the batteries can pose problems. Researchers at the Technion-Israel Institute are building a better battery with easily obtainable sand and air."

12 of 211 comments (clear)

  1. "Turn the desert green" backfires by BadAnalogyGuy · · Score: 4, Funny

    Wouldn't you know it. You turn the desert into an environment that supports agriculture and the very thing you got rid of in mass quantities turns out to be the main ingredient in the technology of the future. Doesn't that just rub you the wrong way.

  2. does this mean by commodoresloat · · Score: 3, Funny

    they'll be treating manic depression with silicone?

    Then again, I guess they've been doing that for years with breast implants...

    1. Re:does this mean by rcamans · · Score: 2, Funny

      And what's this sexism bs? Why not femic depression? Or Femalic?

      --
      wake up and hold your nose
    2. Re:does this mean by bilbobob · · Score: 2, Funny

      More to the point, in 10 years time my girlfriend will have implants that can recharge my ipod. Obviously contactless power would be best; not sure USB piecings would go down too well. I might even start saving for my own pec implants now.

  3. Re:Summary by AGMW · · Score: 4, Funny

    Still, it's kind of cool that you can make a battery out of sand.

    Yep, and to charge it you just turn it over!

    --
    Eclectic beats from Leeds, UK
    handmadehands.co.uk
  4. Re:What about copper? by kestasjk · · Score: 4, Funny

    A wire shortage.. People can work up a fear about just about anything I think.

    http://xkcd.com/605/

    --
    // MD_Update(&m,buf,j);
  5. English is wrong. by Colin+Smith · · Score: 3, Funny

    Natrium is called SODIUM in English.

    The chemical name is Natrium. Clearly English is wrong.

     

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    Deleted
    1. Re:English is wrong. by Darth+Sdlavrot · · Score: 2, Funny

      You must be from München.

      I'm from Munich, and I call it Sodium.

  6. Re:Information by Lars+T. · · Score: 2, Funny

    Paper at http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1388248109003889 The capacity of the prototypes was very small, but they are hoping to acchieve 10 Ah/g.

    So how much is that in potato batteries?

    --

    Lars T.

    To the guy who modded me down from perfect to terrible Karma - Apple haters still suck

  7. Re:What about copper? by Turzyx · · Score: 2, Funny

    Hey, look at it this way, when we've eventually all switched to renewable energy, we can finally clear those pesky stockpiles of coal and oil.

  8. Re:What would be fun by phoenix321 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Of course we can always wait for the socialist dictatorship to snuff some *millions* in their inevitable joy camps and then just build a memorial. This would be sensible, cheap, safe, environmentally-friendly, politically-correct and deeply respecting the local culture and religion.

    You can still do a lot wrong when you're doing nothing. I suggest we print more money and send it to them, that's what my great European Union does all the time - and boy, it works sooo well, just look at Somalia, where an entire new industry with thousands of jobs was created by paying hundreds of millions to free a few ships.

  9. One question by OhHellWithIt · · Score: 3, Funny

    Will it spontaneously combust the way some lithium batteries do? If not, then it's hardly a replacement!

    --
    "Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past." -- George Orwell