Posts Tagged ‘laptops’
Intel Creating Pillow-Proofing Tech for Laptops
Now, Intel is secret "pillow-proof" technology to prevent this overheating.
Details are scarce at this point, but we're ready.
[]
A Portable Battery That Runs on Saltwater – or Urine
MetalCell was designed with militaries in mind; on the modern battlefield, soldiers rely on a growing array of electronics to execute their missions, but when operating in remote areas or cut off from support, those devices can run out of juice at inopportune moments. But MetalCell can sit in the back of a Humvee, in a remote bunker, or in a locker at a forward operating base for years, waiting to power up electrical devices in a pinch.
The rugged little boxes are similar to the so-called dating to the early centuries A.D. that some researchers believe were the first voltage-creating devices. Fitted with magnesium plates inside, the MetalCell can be charged up with nothing more than the addition of saltwater. The sodium in the salt reacts with the magnesium to create a dose of low-voltage power that can power up laptop, a flashlight, night vision specs, etc. when no other source is available. The output can keep a laptop humming for more than four hours and can be recharged with fresh saltwater until the magnesium begins to deteriorate.
Soldiers can pool salt from their Meals, Ready-to-Eat (MREs) to create the a proper sodium solution, but failing that, soldiers could also charge up the MetalCell with their urine (and given the blandness of MREs, they might opt to). That's an energy-rich resource a grunt can always lay his hands on.
[]
New Lithium Batteries Could Remove Pesky Explosion Problem
The Stanford group has created a prototype lithium-sulfide cathode that forms the partner electrode to an earlier anode developed in 2007. The non-metallic form of lithium avoids a where the can grow branchlike structures that penetrate the polymer layer which keeps the battery's two electrodes apart. Such incidents can lead to short circuits and possible explosions.
Each of the lithium-sulfide electrodes can also hold 10 times as much charge as regular lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries, but a lithium-sulfur battery wouldn't have 10 times the energy storage capacity, because it has lower conductivity than the lithium metals in conventional batteries.
The current prototype lithium-sulfur battery managed an 80 percent increase in energy density compared to current li-ion batteries on the market, and could eventually achieve an energy density four times greater.
But a huge problem remains in making the lithium-sulfur battery's lifetime comparable to that of li-ion batteries. The prototypes lose one-third of their energy storage capacity after just five discharge and recharge cycles, and stop working completely after 40 to 50 cycles. That's because of polysulfide chemicals that dissolve into the battery's liquid electrolyte and interfere with charging and discharging.
Technology Review noted two possible solutions, including electrolyte additives that protect the electrodes or membranes that keep the polysulfides contained. But for now, consumers can look forward to from the same Stanford group.
[via ]