With a storage capacity 8 times of conventional lithium batteries, the applications of these revolutionary batteries are endless. The semi-technical term is silicon-nanowire batteries, and the research was a collaboration of Stanford University, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and Hitachi.
One of the researchers, Yi Cui, a chemist from Stanford, overcame the physical limitations of using lithium with silicon. Each nanowire is approximately 90 nanometers wide, or a thousandth the width of a human hair. Besides the technical improvements planned, the batteries shape will no longer be an inconvenience.
One improvement, laptop batteries, was given by the msn article, “And that could result in batteries that are better-shaped to conform to the available space.” This will revolutionize future electronic device’s designs.
Currently Cui’s team is drafting an idea of a startup to commercialize the technology. It still might be a while till you see nano batteries at your local gas station.
Source doc: msn
