Wednesday, March 08, 2006

Battery Wattage

Wired 14.03: START: "The M1, based on the same lithium-ion technology used in your cell phone and laptop, is the first product from MIT spinoff A123 Systems. Cofounder Yet-Ming Chiang, a materials science professor, succeeded in shrinking to nanoscale the particles that coat the battery's electrodes and store and discharge energy. The results are electrifying: Power density doubles, peak energy jumps fivefold (the cells pack more punch than a standard 110-volt wall outlet), and recharging time plummets. Going nano also solves a safety problem. Regular high-capacity Li-ion batteries tend to explode under severe stress, like if they're dropped from a ladder."

This was a big advance...if we can keep coming up with more solutions like this, we may never need hydrogen-driven cars....straight from gas to 'lectric.
5 minute plug-in for a 90% charge? Takes about that long to pump gas....