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Silicon Nanowires?
"one reason people were excited when researchers at MIT discovered a way
to keep the lithium from cracking last year...meaning eventually a 6 cell
battery will be able to hold 10 times the charge."

Is that the technology where they tried putting silicon nano-wires in the
electrode?

The problem goes back 30 years, apparently. They even tried using a
silicon rod back then for the electrode but it became contaminated.

The nanowire approach solved the problem, IIRC.


I've been thinking about the effect of nano-tech on battery and super-
capacitor performance.

The huge increase in surface area from using nanoscale materials should
make it possible to build a hybrid battery/super-capacitor.

Imagine: super-capacitors can absorb huge amounts of power quickly,
but face discharge issues. The power leaks away as there's no chemical
bonds to hold the electrons.

I thought this was a insoluble problem, but I've reconsidered.


The larger the surface area in a super-capacitor, the more power it can
store. Nanoscale silicon or carbon sheets would be able to store huge
amounts of power for a matter of hours at least.

Batteries can hold modest amounts of power for a long time in their
chemical bonds.

Combine the two technologies, and you could get a super-capacitor
"buffer" to charge your power cell in minutes, which would then leak the
charge out to the chemical battery components, charging them gradually.

Your device taps power from the capacitor first, and the battery second.

A built-in charge monitor ensures that, and shuts off the power flow
entirely when the battery bank hits 20%.

Perhaps future devices will be designed to operate off battery power even
when plugged in to A/C, to maintain battery conditioning.

Posted by: Jkirk3279   Posted on: 07/03/09 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use
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Okay, so having this thing plugged into AC all the time  Lerianis10 | 07/02/09
Except...  safesax2002 | 07/02/09
Actualy  jdbukis@... | 07/02/09
You have a choice...  vulpine@... | 07/02/09
Is this made clear in the user manual?  NonZealot | 07/02/09
double standard.  gertruded | 07/02/09
This is Microsoft's fault?  NonZealot | 07/02/09
Not at all, it's a valid question  John Zern | 07/02/09
On a side note...  vulpine@... | 07/02/09
Gorilla vs. Guerilla  cgarrett | 07/08/09
Not really, no.  lostarchitect | 07/02/09
I'd be up in arms  athynz | 07/03/09
25 months/184 load cycles  Herrie | 07/02/09
don't jump the gun.  lostarchitect | 07/02/09
9 months/125 load cycles  tlattie | 07/02/09
Must be those  John Zern | 07/02/09
RE: The correct way to use your MacBook's battery  bilebeans@... | 07/02/09
Apple guy misinformed  Dorkyman | 07/02/09
Aside from not trusting Wikis...  vulpine@... | 07/02/09
I am no expert, but....  aalhc5@... | 07/03/09
Silicon Nanowires?  Jkirk3279 | 07/03/09
The current crop of Apples...  msalzberg | 07/04/09
30 months/40 cycles  rabber | 07/02/09
RE: The correct way to use your MacBook's battery  Nitz_Walsh | 07/02/09
correct term is "guerrilla"  gertruded | 07/02/09
I got it...  Jkirk3279 | 07/03/09
Age: est 8 years Cycles: 81  vulpine@... | 07/02/09
3 months old, 138 cycles  tiiman | 07/02/09
I wouldn't like an "expert" to tell me if I was "correctly" using anything  Roque Mocan | 07/02/09
This is ancient thinking  r.u.FED.up.2 | 07/02/09
My stats plus a question  Ben_E | 07/02/09
Good question Ben_E  r.u.FED.up.2 | 07/03/09
RE: The correct way to use your MacBook's battery  yltan@... | 07/03/09
24 months: Check Battery  Colorado Bill | 07/03/09
1 year and 4 months, 491 cycles  MacV193@... | 07/03/09
500 cycles mean 500 cycles  po_134@... | 07/03/09
5 months 193 charges  rhon@... | 07/03/09
Long life with low cycles for me  peter.eddy@... | 07/03/09
Do not let a dead battery stand too long.  People | 07/03/09
I've also heard not to let a full battery stand too long  NonZealot | 07/03/09
If Apple has a better algorithm, PUT IT IN THE MACHINE  wstuermer | 07/03/09
The best answer to long battery life, as with many things...  msalzberg | 07/03/09
So who still thinks those non user replaceable batteries are a good idea?  cornpie | 07/03/09
I do.  r.u.FED.up.2 | 07/03/09
RE: 1 hour 44 mins. Personal best MBP  Saunders P Jones | 07/03/09
which graphics mode?  lostarchitect | 07/03/09
quick poll: cycle 185, good  gigogogogown | 07/04/09
quick poll: cycle 58, age 6 mos,  lostarchitect | 07/04/09
That's a bunch of crap  Randalllind | 07/05/09
THIS IS NOT CRAP!! JASON, YOU'RE PRESCIENT!!  ChasmoeBrown | 07/05/09
RE: The correct way to use your MacBook's battery  garybau | 07/06/09
RE: The correct way to use your MacBook's battery  781lc | 07/06/09
RE: The correct way to use your MacBook's battery  e.p.meyer@... | 07/08/09
MacBook Pro - Late October 2008  Rick_from_BC | 07/08/09
RE: The correct way to use your MacBook's battery  midorisliger | 07/08/09
RE: The correct way to use your MacBook's battery  gbauman@... | 07/14/09
RE: The correct way to use your MacBook's battery  ILuvARose1954@... | 07/20/09
RE: The correct way to use your MacBook's battery  MacMeanie | 07/31/09
RE: The correct way to use your MacBook's battery  RAW<3 | 07/31/09
RE: The correct way to use your MacBook's battery  RAW<3 | 07/31/09

What do you think?

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