New Material Can Store Vast Amounts of Energy

ElectricSteve writes "Using super-high pressures similar to those found deep in the Earth or on a giant planet, researchers from Washington State University (WSU) have created a compact, never-before-seen material capable of storing vast amounts of energy. Described by one of the researchers as 'the most condensed form of energy storage outside of nuclear energy,' the material holds potential for creating a new class of energetic materials or fuels, an energy storage device, super-oxidizing materials for destroying chemical and biological agents, and high temperature superconductors."

Comments

Re:Batteries

[roman_mir]

imagine that you compressed something to 1,000,000atm. You compressed it with some diamond anvil, now release the pressure of the anvil. Do you think the material compressed by the anvil will stay compressed or will immediately start decompressing?

I think it will start decompressing.

So for this compressed material to be used as a form of energy store, you have to keep it compressed. You could only compress this with some diamond anvil, ergo now to power some mechanism with the stored energy, you have to install that anvil into the mechanism and allow the compressed material to decompress slowly and use the pushing of the anvil as your mechanical force, (transfer it to a rotating shaft, or whatever it is you are powering.)

OK, so if the diamond anvil is not terribly massive/bulky and not extremely expensive, you can probably install it into large mechanisms, like excavators or trucks or bulldozers or ships or airplanes, and then to 'refuel' the machine you attach it to an energy outlet and turn the anvil back on to compress the material within it back to 1,000,000atm.

I think that's the only way to release the energy slowly.

Another way is something the military probably would like: drop an 'anvil' on someone, so not only are you getting mad Coyote pointz but after it drops and a small charge blows some holding bolts the energy inside the 'anvil' is released all at once very quickly, probably as an explosion.