New Battery Tech Could Make It Last Forever
The normal charge cycle for batteries consumers use today range from 5,000 – 7,000, which means that after that point, the capacity will substantially be reduced to a point that the battery is no longer usable. That's why no matter how one takes really good care of a battery in a smartphone, tablet computer, or laptop, there will come a time that it'll reach its end.
But what if there was one that gives you the luxury of never having to buy a replacement battery, and we mean ever?
A group of researchers from the University of California in Irvine recently claimed that they were able to build a battery that has 200,000 charge cycles with the use of wires which are literally thinner than human hair.
According to their report, instead of using the traditional lithium ion technology, they used nanowires that are a lot thinner than hair, which in turn resulted to creating a battery that does not lose any of its capacity after going through that number of recharge cycles. In the most literal sense, it's a battery that doesn't need replacement.
Mya Le Thai, a doctoral candidate who leads the team of researchers that performed the experiment, said that gold nanowires were very good at storing electricity. They added manganese oxide to serve as the encasement of the wire and then gave it some electrolyte gel, too, the purpose of which is to prevent the nanowires from naturally corroding.
This new battery technology is definitely a game-changer especially with the fact that we rely on batteries in our everyday lives. Rechargeable batteries are being used in so many different devices and machines, and there really is an infinite number of advantages should this invention reach the point of production for consumer use.
The simple thought of having a battery that lasts forever is nothing short of amazing.