The battery that might change everything

Blazer Bob
Topic Author
Mountain Legend

23 Feb 2013 18:56 #1 by Blazer Bob

The battery that might change everything was created by Blazer Bob

http://hotair.com/archives/2013/02/23/v ... verything/

"It’s time for a short break from politics and a brief excursion into… SCIENCE! (Yes, yes… I know. Republicans don’t care about science, but this may turn out to be important for your smart phone. More on that later.)

Some of the great scientific breakthroughs of the last century came about entirely by accident. Many of you are probably familiar with the origins of the Post It Note, and how it was invented as a result of a failure when attempting to create a super strong adhesive. Well, there may be another such story taking place in the present day. Scientists working with carbon compounds developed Graphene, a safe substance with a lot of structural strength for very little mass and weight. And then some wise guy discovered that it had another use.

The recap: Graphene, a very simple carbon polymer, can be used as the basic component of a “supercapacitor” — an electrical power storage device that charges far more rapidly than chemical batteries. Unlike other supercapacitors, though, graphene’s structure also offers a high “energy density".............

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ScienceChic
Mountain Champion

23 Feb 2013 23:34 #2 by ScienceChic

Replied by ScienceChic on topic The battery that might change everything

Pretty cool stuff, but both authors makes some dumb statements. These scientists are hardly the first to have "discovered this use" of graphene, nor is it an accident - the properties of carbon have been well known for over a century. This field is hot right now, as the first to get a more efficient, higher-storage capacity, more quickly recharged battery to commercial production stands to make bank and then some.

FYI: just go to Pubmed and search graphene battery and you'll get back articles that date back 3 years on this subject. (I like the terra cotta bio-battery that could become a power source for LED lighting in rural, off-grid communities myself!).

Now if they can combine better batteries with more efficient solar panels, our energy problems would be a thing of the past.

"Now, more than ever, the illusions of division threaten our very existence. We all know the truth: more connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers. We must find a way to look after one another as if we were one single tribe.” -King T'Challa, Black Panther

The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it. ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is. ~Winston Churchill

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