A Battery Charge
by Shervin Saedinia
Think about how each of us use batteries. Most people use a battery up and then toss it once there is no more juice left. This means that tons of batteries (and mercury from those batteries) are being wasted and dumped in to the landfills. Another option for the more environmentally-conscious individuals out there is to use rechargeable batteries. A recent technology was mentioned by Ibrahim Abou Hamad and his colleagues from Mississippi State University that injects lithium ions into lithium batteries, giving batteries a quick charge:
Essentially, it works by simulating the injection of lithium ions into a li-ion batteries graphite anode. Add an oscillating electric field and you end up seeing huge increases in charging time… as well as the possibility of increased power densities.
Isn’t this fantastic!? Honestly, I love this... I run out of battery on my phone all the time.
Here's the thing though: the major battery manufacturers aren’t doing a darn thing about this. In fact, there are all sorts of research done by these independent laboratories/universities, and they find all sorts of interesting things. Is anything being sold at Best Buy? The answer, of course, is no. How come? Because the rollout of battery technology is costly. So why not wait until some huge technological jump occurs and then rollout the new product line? Although maybe that won't help either.
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