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MIT and Samsung Researching Solid-State Batteries
jones_supa writes: Researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Samsung have developed a new approach to one of the three basic components of batteries, the electrolyte. The new findings are based on the idea that a solid electrolyte, rather than liquid, could greatly improve both device lifetime and safety, while also providing a significant boost in power density. The new type of electrolyte would also cope better in cold temperatures. The results are reported in the journal Nature Materials in a paper by MIT postdoc Yan Wang, visiting professor of materials science and engineering Gerbrand Ceder, and five others.
Faster than cows, goats, or gay people of color.
A battery with a solid electrolyte could have better energy density (not power density as TFS says - WTF?) for many of the same reasons that the solid rocket boosters on the space shuttle produce so much more thrust for their size than the liquid propellant does.
They make too much profit off of our current crappy batteries. Expect this innovation to be buried like they have done with the rest of the innovations we read about almost weekly.
I hear solid rocket fuel burns really well.
I'm pretty sure all batteries have been solid-state since they replaced hamsters running in wheels.
I thought most Lithium-whatever batteries were already using solid electrolytes, and then there are the old "dry" cells, which I suppose still technical use a wet electrolyte, but this is hardly earth shattering new thinking.
Improvements in battery technology are one of the most important stepping stones in getting us to that Star Trek utopia. Obviously they're used everywhere, but with 'perfect' battery technology, you don't need to worry about peak load energy production (ie, you can produce clean energy sporadically and save it if power demand isn't high enough), you don't need gasoline for cars, and your smartphones won't take hours to charge.
It seems that the main advantage of this breakthrough is, among other benefits, eliminating the heating problems associated with high energy devices like car batteries. One of the biggest problems people have with electric cars is that you can't charge them faster than you can fill up a tank of gas. FTFA:
The electrolyte in such batteries — typically a liquid organic solvent whose function is to transport charged particles from one of a battery’s two electrodes to the other during charging and discharging — has been responsible for the overheating and fires... The lithium itself is not flammable in the state it’s in in these batteries.
This is big, and I'm excited. Don't get me wrong, this isn't an overall solution to our dirty energy practices and clunky smartphones, but it's a big step in the right direction. Surely there will be design hurdles to overcome, which will probably delay implementation for some time, but this century is going to be great if we don't fuck it up too bad.
Also, if you can get past the paywall, here's a link to the nature materials article that the article didn't have: http://www.nature.com/nmat/jou...
... the Declaration of Independence was sign by John Hancock, and 55 others.
The biggest limitation to flight time on multirotors right now is the battery. There's a sort of balancing act between carrying a bigger battery to gain more flight time vs. having to upscale the airframe, motors, and props to support the extra weight. So most designers hit a wall of 20-30 minutes in the air. I RTFA and didn't catch any commentary on relative weight savings. I wonder if, on top of other stated advantages of a solid state battery, it might be lighter in weight? Anyone that's hoping to use drones for commercial purposes will have a stake in this research.
Brawndo, it's Got Electrolytes!
Do the cows moo because of the cattle prod electrocuting them with battery powered shocks?
APK likes to ask for responses to the same things over and over. Maybe he just likes the responses?
You can at least get the abstract for the paper here: http://www.nature.com/nmat/jou...
Or the old SNL skit (from way back in the day) when Gatorade was new and the fake commercial had them drinking straight-up sweat. heh
"Never give up, for that is just the time and place when the tide will change." -Harriet Beecher Stowe ^_^
Wake me up when you can make long-lasting batteries without having to tear apart third-world countries to get the materials.
You are welcome on my lawn.
I thought it was funny.
Notice that the paper contains a chart highlighting several potential superionic conductors, and some of the best ones were dilithium based.