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Hmmm, batteries are obsolete?

Posted: Wed Jan 24, 2007 9:52 am
by philba

Posted: Wed Jan 24, 2007 11:06 am
by Newz2000
Can't wait to see it.

Calling back to the thread from a few months ago regarding the ultra-capacitor car power supply, the energy density here is (theoretically) amazing. What happens when one of these things "Vents with flames"?

I keep hearing how new technologies are just around the corner, but I haven't actually seen any make it to market yet. As it is, with the bad press around LiIon, those may become less common. So when do I get to hold one of these in my own hands? (figuratively speaking, considering that 500lbs/ft^3 is a little hefty for me) I want a fuel cell for my cellphone. I want an ultra-capacitor for my laptop. C'mon, show me the products. :-D

Posted: Thu Jan 25, 2007 4:34 pm
by jollyrgr
HOLY CHARGED CAPACITOR BATMAN!

Back a few years ago another invention came out that was bound to change the world completely. It was supposed to change the way society did everything. Drum roll please.... This new device was going to make travel a completely new concept. Everyone would have one instead of a car. This new device? The SEGWAY!

I have only seen a few of these in real life. It might catch on someday but I don't think so.

If this capacitor thing DOES come out and it DOES what is advertised and it COST as much as batteries or even a little more, I will be one of the first to start using them in things like cordless drills, two way radios, and such. I already use the 1F supercaps in LED flashlights and think this is one of the neat electronic gadgets. I'll let someone else drive the electric cars with these in them for a few years before I'd take the plunge.

Posted: Thu Jan 25, 2007 8:48 pm
by dacflyer
once apon a time i heard scientist tried to capture lightning with super caps.. a whole building full.. the experiment failed...miserably..
this was done somewhere in the desert from what i rember..
but this was done eons ago..maybe one day soon we will have the luck..i doubt it,, but who knows.

Posted: Fri Jan 26, 2007 1:39 am
by MrAl
Hi there,

As Newz mentioned, as the energy density increases so does the
lethality. 55 thousand watt hours stored in one small space, if
allowed to dissipate within a short time period, would cause
one heck of an explosion.
Even some of the batteries we have today can explode with some
nasty amount of force...imagine a battery with 10 or 100 times that
much energy stored?
Still, i cant hope it works out for them because it would be a benefit to
the world, but with their formula it seems doubtful. The only thing we
can do is wait and see.

For now, i have to run to the store so let me go out and start up my
Wankel engine car...oh yeah wait, that's right, now i remember, i dont have
a Wankel engine because there were problems with that thing that
were not foreseen, so they came and went. Gee, i wonder if this
can happen with other inventions too... :smile:

Posted: Fri Jan 26, 2007 5:33 am
by Dean Huster
55 thousand watt hours stored in one small space, if
allowed to dissipate within a short time period, would cause
one heck of an explosion.
Makes you think twice about wanting to hold one of Captain Kirk's phasers in your hand, huh? They even had a "self-destruct" setting!

Dean

Posted: Fri Jan 26, 2007 5:21 pm
by jollyrgr
dacflyer wrote:once apon a time i heard scientist tried to capture lightning with super caps.. a whole building full.. the experiment failed...miserably..
this was done somewhere in the desert from what i rember..
but this was done eons ago..maybe one day soon we will have the luck..i doubt it,, but who knows.
I saw this in an old magazine! The cap was a multi-story building! But I never could find what happened to this project nor do I recall what the project was named or who did it.

Posted: Sat Jan 27, 2007 5:00 pm
by Gorgon
jollyrgr wrote:
dacflyer wrote:once apon a time i heard scientist tried to capture lightning with super caps.. a whole building full.. the experiment failed...miserably..
this was done somewhere in the desert from what i rember..
but this was done eons ago..maybe one day soon we will have the luck..i doubt it,, but who knows.
I saw this in an old magazine! The cap was a multi-story building! But I never could find what happened to this project nor do I recall what the project was named or who did it.
Ben Franklin? :grin:

TOK ;)

Posted: Sun Jan 28, 2007 12:13 pm
by philba
I don't know if this outfit really has it out but it makes sense that at some point some one will figure out higher density energy storage devices. One of the interesting claims of these guys is that their device does not suffer from the volatility of Li Ion. I would not bemoan the passing of Li-Ion tech... A lot depends on high volume costs, of course.

only half of the equation

Posted: Mon Jan 29, 2007 6:57 pm
by danbob
If they can get this to work were are they going to get the electricity to charge all of these batteries and caps?

Posted: Mon Jan 29, 2007 9:01 pm
by philba
besides traditional coal/gas fired turbines, from wind, solar and nuclear facilities. From regen braking.

Posted: Thu Feb 01, 2007 8:02 pm
by projectguy
I would like to fine a long term replacement for the 1.5 volt battery. I'm buying 20 or more batteries every two weeks. I hear ultra capacitors are going to be the thing on hybrids but they are super expensive. Has anyone hear of the 1 km tall solar power plant that can generator 200meg watts of electric? No mechanical parts except wind turbines. Completely renewable energy. They were going to build one in Australia but the project got cancelled. What type of capacitor could store all this energy? :grin:

Posted: Fri Feb 02, 2007 4:03 am
by MrAl
Hi,

I guess you never heard of NiMH batteries? They can be
recharged so you dont have to keep buying new cells.
They come in all sizes, but AA and AAA are the most
popular.

Toy battery saver

Posted: Sun Feb 04, 2007 4:05 am
by projectguy
I'll have to try NiMH batteries. When I had rechargables before it seemed I was always recharging them and they would never last. Is there some kind of circuit I could add to my kids toys that would shut them off after not being use?

Posted: Sun Feb 04, 2007 9:30 am
by philba
buy higher capacity ni-cads or nimh batteries.

do uyou really want to mod your kids toys? how long do they last in your house??? in my house, the cheap ones don't last long enough to matter - battery consumption problem solved. the expensive ones last longer but tend to be smarter about battery consumption.