Flexible power
The major area falling behind in today’s technology is in the power department. It’s not just a question of how long the batteries last – but on how fast they charge, how reliable they are. Imagine that you could have an electrical car that had the same autonomy as a gas powered one, but that could be charged in about the same amount of time as it takes to fill a gas tank, for instance. Or batteries that could have any arbitrary shape, taking the best advantage of the available volume in any device.
These are a few of the things that could become possible with a proposed new technology by Pulickel Ajayan et al from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York. Basically, it’s the combination of cellulose and nanotubes, creating a flexible robust battery – with a twist. It can be built in a way that it becomes a hybrid of a battery with a capacitor – able to hold the amount of power batteries can, coupled with the ability to charge and discharge as fast as capacitors are able. Being flexible, these batteries could be easily produced in all shapes necessary to take the best advantage of any design. Let’s see how soon this technology can be mass produced.
