Demands on batteries clash with science

Iria · Aug 17, 2006, 12:52 AM

Source: IHT
_________
It always seems to happen: Long before it is time to stow your tray table, your laptop battery gives out, and you spend the rest of your flight reading the SkyMall catalog.

In the information age, people want their electronics everywhere they go, and they want them to be on all the time. But they rely on batteries that have not improved as rapidly as the devices they power.

Moore's Law, which offers a yardstick for the exponential advances in computer chips, has no counterpart in the world of batteries.

Researchers are trying to improve the situation, in part because there is money to be made. Portable rechargeable batteries are expected to be a $6.2 billion market this year, and more than one billion batteries will be made by some of the largest electronics companies in the world: Sony, Sanyo, Matsushita and Samsung.

But scientists are running into some basic hurdles of chemistry and physics. The more energy they store in a small package, the more volatile and dangerous that package becomes.

Aug 17, 2006, 12:52 AM	#1
Iria DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 7,275 Rep Power: 89	Demands on batteries clash with science Source: IHT _________ It always seems to happen: Long before it is time to stow your tray table, your laptop battery gives out, and you spend the rest of your flight reading the SkyMall catalog. In the information age, people want their electronics everywhere they go, and they want them to be on all the time. But they rely on batteries that have not improved as rapidly as the devices they power. Moore's Law, which offers a yardstick for the exponential advances in computer chips, has no counterpart in the world of batteries. Researchers are trying to improve the situation, in part because there is money to be made. Portable rechargeable batteries are expected to be a $6.2 billion market this year, and more than one billion batteries will be made by some of the largest electronics companies in the world: Sony, Sanyo, Matsushita and Samsung. But scientists are running into some basic hurdles of chemistry and physics. The more energy they store in a small package, the more volatile and dangerous that package becomes.