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Transparent Lithium-Ion Battery Created

Posted by samzenpus on from the hard-to-see dept.

Med-trump writes "Stanford researchers say they have developed a transparent battery. Transparent futuristic gadgets have been a topic of science fiction and dream of engineers. The paper "Transparent lithium-ion batteries" was published in the July 25 edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. They used a grid-structured electrode, which is fabricated by a microfluidics-assisted method, such that the feature dimension in the electrode is below the resolution limit of human eyes, and, thus, the electrode appears transparent."

14 of 91 comments (clear)

  1. iWindow by wsxyz · · Score: 2

    This will be excellent for powering the iWindow.

    1. Re:iWindow by vlm · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Though on the other had it would be like a small bomb if you broke the screen then.

      Much more effective the the average burglar alarm glass breakage detector.

      I wonder if you could store enough energy to make bullet-proof glass that is actually reactive armor instead of just soaking up the force?

      --
      "Science flies us to the moon. Religion flies us into buildings." - Victor Stenger
  2. Re:Disappointing by N!k0N · · Score: 2

    They just call it synthetic sapphire...

  3. Re:What's the point? by ColdWetDog · · Score: 3, Funny

    Do they have transparent copper wires and circuit boards now as well? Because without them, I'm really not seeing the point of having a transparent battery.

    Steve Jobs is obviously behind this. Think it's hard to replace the battery in a iPhone or MacBook now? Wait until you can't see it!

    --
    Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
  4. Re:I didn't understand this bit... by omnichad · · Score: 2

    Think of polarizing filters - it's all about the alignment, and this is a grid.

  5. First thought by owlstead · · Score: 2

    Ah, now we can finally see directly if a battery is full or not.

  6. Re:YAou Fail It by Adriax · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Interesting capitalization there, anyone else get the feeling these goatse posts are actually communication messages for a secretive organization?

    --
    I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it!
  7. I'd rather .... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I'd much rather see a battery that lasts 10times longer, or that can be charged 10times faster, or that can release energy at a rate 10times faster, than have engineers spend time on creating a transparent battery.

    Am I alone in that?

    1. Re:I'd rather .... by Spigot+the+Bear · · Score: 2

      I'm pretty sure different groups of researchers can work on all of those problems simultaneously.

    2. Re:I'd rather .... by Phics · · Score: 3, Insightful

      You're probably not alone. On the other hand, (and forgive me for jumping to conclusions), it sounds like you're thinking about devices such as tablets or cell phones. Those aren't the only applications for battery technology.

      That's the great thing about discovery... Just because someone came up with a new technology, doesn't mean future applications are readily apparent. Someone out there is going to think, "Hey! This sucks for laptops, but you know what this would be great for?!...." and the next thing you know you have contact lenses with a HUD.

      --
      There are two types of people in the world; those who believe there are two types of people, and those who don't.
  8. Battery Life? by Tator+Tot · · Score: 2

    But... I won't be able to "see how much battery I gots left" on my new phone. :(

    --
    To all you virgins: Thanks for nothing.
  9. Transparency is cool, until... by JavaBear · · Score: 2

    ...you want some privacy, or "accidentally" enter a porn site while on the train...

  10. Transparent? by mswhippingboy · · Score: 2

    I'll believe it when I see it.

    --
    Sometimes the light at the end of the tunnel is the headlight of an oncoming train.
  11. What is the point? by kiwix · · Score: 2

    What is the point of making stuff transparent? I can think of two important differences between a regular phone and an hypothetic transparent phone: you can more easily lose the transparent one, and the screen will be much harder to read. Am I missing something?