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We see a lot of sleek-looking technology pass through our doors, but it's rare that the inventions could be called beautiful by those who aren't immersed in the gadget world. We'd venture that North Carolina State University might have crossed the divide by creating an energy storage technology that's both practical and genuinely pretty. Its technology vaporizes germanium sulfide and cools it into 20-30 nanometer layers that, as they're combined, turn into nanoflowers: elegant structures that might look like the carnation on a prom dress or tuxedo, but are really energy storage cells with much more capacity than traditional cells occupying the same area. The floral patterns could lead to longer-lived supercapacitors and lithium-ion batteries, and the germanium sulfide is both cheap and clean enough that it could lead to very efficient solar cells that are more environmentally responsible. As always, there's no definite timetable for when (and if) NC State's technology might be commercialized -- so call someone's bluff if they promise you a nanoflower bouquet.
Filed under: Science
NC State nanoflowers can boost battery and solar cell capacity, make great prom accessories originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Oct 2012 20:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Researchers at the University of California San Diego have devised new algorithms that can cut lithium-ion battery charge times in half, help cells run more efficiently and potentially cut production costs by 25 percent. Rather than tracking battery behavior and health with the traditional technique of monitoring current and voltage, the team's mathematical models estimate where lithium ions are within cells for more precise data. With the added insight, the team can more accurately gauge battery longevity and control charging efficiency. The group was awarded $460,000 from the Department of Energy's ARPA-E research arm to further develop the algorithm and accompanying tech with automotive firm Bosch and battery manufacturer Cobasys, which both received the remainder of a $9.6 million grant. Wondering if the solution will ever find its way out of the lab? According to co-lead researcher Scott Moura, it'll see practical use: "This technology is going into products that people will actually use."
Filed under: Alt
Researchers create algorithms that help lithium-ion batteries charge two times faster originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Oct 2012 23:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Toyota's just-arrived RAV4 EV will soon get a much smaller cousin -- albeit a very elusive one. An electric version of the iQ city car will arrive in Japan (as the eQ) and the US (as the iQ EV) this December, but the automaker is significantly scaling back its 2010 promises of several thousand cars sold per year to just 100 fleet-oriented vehicles. The charging times, costs and range of EVs "do not meet society's needs," vice chairman Takeshi Uchiyamada says to explain the smaller ambitions. It's easy to understand the cautious approach after seeing the car's final details. While they're not out of line with the specs of other EVs, the eQ's 3-hour fast charge, 62-mile range and ¥3.6 million ($46,130) price wouldn't have regular customers flocking to dealerships. Most of Toyota's energy is instead being funneled into its tried-and-true hybrids, with 21 due on the market by 2015, as well as plans to deliver the company's first hydrogen fuel cell car by the same year. Eco-conscious drivers may be disappointed that Toyota isn't moving as aggressively into a pure electric realm as some of its rivals, but we'd rather see smartly planned baby steps than an overly risky plunge.
Filed under: Transportation
Toyota plans dialed-back launch of eQ and iQ EV city cars in December originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Sep 2012 13:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Toyota's just-arrived RAV4 EV will soon get a much smaller cousin -- albeit a very elusive one. An electric version of the iQ city car will arrive in Japan (as the eQ) and the US (as the iQ EV) this December, but the automaker is significantly scaling back its 2010 promises of several thousand cars sold per year to just 100 fleet-oriented vehicles. The charging times, costs and range of EVs "do not meet society's needs," vice chairman Takeshi Uchiyamada says to explain the smaller ambitions. It's easy to understand the cautious approach after seeing the car's final details. While they're not out of line with the specs of other EVs, the eQ's 3-hour fast charge, 62-mile range and ¥3.6 million ($46,130) price wouldn't have regular customers flocking to dealerships. Most of Toyota's energy is instead being funneled into its tried-and-true hybrids, with 21 due on the market by 2015, as well as plans to deliver the company's first hydrogen fuel cell car by the same year. Eco-conscious drivers may be disappointed that Toyota isn't moving as aggressively into a pure electric realm as some of its rivals, but we'd rather see smartly planned baby steps than an overly risky plunge.
Filed under: Transportation
Toyota plans dialed-back launch of eQ and iQ EV city cars in December originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Sep 2012 13:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Progress is lumpy. The future is attained in a series of epochal strides, each followed by a lot of relatively inconsequential shuffling forward. The invention of the internet (and especially the consumer-friendly web) was a rare giant step that motivated immense adoption of computers and digital lifestyles. A global marketplace of online citizens spawned gadgets, software apps, corporate gold-rushing and other feverish shuffling.
Even with the opulent gadgetry we admire and enjoy, the whole expanding tech bubble seems to be reaching for something beyond itself. The incremental improvements of personal technology don't thrust into the future as much as push against constraining walls of the present. Sharper screens and thinner computers are delightful results of corporate development cycles. But we are tethered to the present, which one day will seem primitive in retrospect, by two unglamorous bridles: power and connectivity.
Continue reading Editorial: Physics and politics stand in the way of true mobile
Editorial: Physics and politics stand in the way of true mobile originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Sep 2012 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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The world is no stranger to flexible batteries, but they've almost always had to be made in thin sheets -- that doesn't amount to a long running time if you're powering anything more than a watch. LG Chem has developed a flexible lithium-ion battery that's not just better-suited to our bigger gadgets but could out-do previous bendable energy packs. Researchers found that coating copper wires with nickel-tin and coiling them briefly around a rod results in a hollow anode that behaves like a very strong spring; mating that anode with a lithium-ion cell leads to a battery that works even when it's twisted up in knots. Join multiple packs together, and devices could have lithium-ion batteries that fit many shapes without compromising on their maximum deliverable power. Some hurdles remain to creating a production-grade battery, such as a tendency for the pack to shed a small amount of capacity whenever it's put under enough stress. LG Chem is fully set on turning these cable batteries into shippable technology, however, and could ultimately produce mobile devices and wearables that really do bend to their owners' every whim.
Filed under: Wearables, Science
LG Chem develops very flexible cable batteries, may leave mobile devices tied up in knots originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 02 Sep 2012 16:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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One of the last times we saw the concept of a self-recharging battery, it was part of a high-minded Nokia patent whose ideas still haven't seen the light of day. Researchers at Georgia Tech are more inclined to put theory into practice. Starting from a regular lithium-ion coin battery, the team has replaced the usual divider between electrodes with a polyvinylidene difluoride film whose piezoelectric nature produces a charging action inside that gap through just a little pressure, with no outside voltage required to make the magic happen. The developers have even thumbed their noses at skeptics by very literally walking the walk -- slipping the test battery under a shoe sole gives it a proper dose of energy with every footstep. At this stage, the challenge mostly involves ramping up the maximum power through upgrades such as more squeezable piezoelectrics. Georgia Tech hasn't progressed so far as to have production plans in mind; it's nonetheless close enough that we could see future forms of wearable computing that rarely need an electrical pick-me-up.
Filed under: Wearables, Science
Georgia Tech develops self-charging battery that marches to the owner's beat originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 19 Aug 2012 04:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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