Scientists invent wafer-thin plastic that can store electricity

How cool is this, gadgets could be as thin as credit cards with this tech.

Enjoy

"The battery, which has powered our lives for generations, may soon be consigned to the dustbin of history.

British scientists say they have created a plastic that can store and release electricity, revolutionising the way we use phones, drive cars - and even wear clothes.

It means the cases of mobiles and iPods could soon double up as their power source - leading to gadgets as thin as credit cards"

Source: www.dailymail.co.uk...

This is really cool stuff dont you think?

Peace

IT'S A CAPACITOR !!!

Nothing new here I don't think but will be interesting if they do anything with it?

Lol, they say "invented a plastic that can store and release electricity". Then they show the construction as carbon fibre, glass and resin. No a whole lot of plastic there.

reply to post by minkey53


sure does look like a capacitor....but a capacitor that can release its charge over a 20 minute period of time is a pretty interesting thing, which could have lots of uses.

I think this tech could be revolutionary if it get to us, imagine how much lighter things like laptops could be. A car that doesnt need a traditional battery. Credit card thin kindle or ipods, would be soo cool =D

Peace

reply to post by LeeTheDestroyer


Capacitors can release their charge over as long a period as you want them to, the just don't have the energy density of a battery, so everyone uses batteries, not capacitors for power.

According to Wikipedia, the highest energy density ultra-capacitor on the market has an energy density of 30 watt hours per kilogram, or .108 MJ/kg. that's roughly comparable to old zinc-acid batteries from the 50s, or about 1/10th as much as modern lithium batteries.

this new technology isn't even an ultracapacitor, so it's energy density will probably be about 1000 times less.

For cheap applications, I'm pretty sure there's printable batteries now, so there are still thin power sources.

Originally posted by mdiinican
reply to post by LeeTheDestroyer

 

Capacitors can release their charge over as long a period as you want them to, the just don't have the energy density of a battery, so everyone uses batteries, not capacitors for power.

For cheap applications, I'm pretty sure there's printable batteries now, so there are still thin power sources.

The length of time a cap can release its charge is limited by its leakage.

There are also lithium polymer batteries available which can be very thin and have a high energy density.

Originally posted by minkey53
IT'S A CAPACITOR !!!

Nothing new here I don't think but will be interesting if they do anything with it?

That was my first thought! That said, vast improvements in capacitor technology might actually lead to capacitors overtaking chemical batteries. In theory, it's a better idea.

Does that mean it can store lightening as well?

reply to post by LightFantastic


That's true, but capacitor leakage is usually pretty slow, like discharging an ideal capacitor over a few tens or hundreds of megaohms. Most rechargeable batteries also lose their charge over time. Over the charge cycle of a device like a phone or media player, neither effect really matters. It only really comes up for things that need to sit around charged for months at a time.

capacitors would be nice because they can be charged extremely quickly compared to batteries. The problem is you need at least 10 times the weight in ultra-capacitors to equal the same energy storage in batteries. (or about 10,000 times the weight of the same energy in gasoline)

reply to post by mdiinican

Generally available ultra/supercaps lose between 1% and 4% of the stored energy per day which is worse than a few tens megohms but as you say it doesn't really matter in many applications if you aren't too worried about efficiency. Other capacitor types are as you say but they aren't useful for bulk energy storage.

Ultracaps are useful for reducing the transient impedance of a battery however and prevent overheating and electrode damage.

I wonder what effect having lots of fast charge devices would have on our current electrical grid?



[edit on 9/2/2010 by LightFantastic]

In light of superconductors, is there such thing as a "superinsulator"? Would that be a pure vacuum? Is the value of a pure vacuum infinite ohms? A "superinsulator" would negate leakage but I suspect there is no such animal.