New battery technology

[Phogg]

Article here.

They have a manufacturing technique down on silicon nanotube lithium ion batteries finally. I hope they can bring them to market soon.

[RainingLemur]

Wow. Having batteries that last THAT long (by number of charges) would be incredible. Depending on the premium price, they could be big if/when they make it to market.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by RainingLemur

Wow. Having batteries that last THAT long (by number of charges) would be incredible. Depending on the premium price, they could be big if/when they make it to market.

And it was how many times the charge density?!? Awesome!

[Kumabjorn]

How long before commercial products will be available?

[Penforhire]

I've got my fingers crossed for improvements like this. But "double-walled silicon nanotube coated with a thin layer of silicon oxide" sounds difficult to make cheaply. But who knows? "Plain" carbon nanotubes are quite a bit cheaper than they were a decade ago. I don't know much about silicon nanotubes.

[charlesatan]

What I was looking forward to commercial availability was this: http://www.webpronews.com/super-batt...e-time-2011-11

Less charge/discharge cycles, but they last longer (individually and overall), and offers quick recharge too.

[Belfaborac]

6000 cycles is bloody excellent, but what would be truly great is a combination of the breakthroughs in the first link and the one just above. As nice as a huge improvements in cycles is, a doubling, tripling or quadrupling of how long a charge lasts would be far better, even with no improvements in cycles.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Belfaborac

6000 cycles is bloody excellent, but what would be truly great is a combination of the breakthroughs in the first link and the one just above. As nice as a huge improvements in cycles is, a doubling, tripling or quadrupling of how long a charge lasts would be far better, even with no improvements in cycles.

Number of charge cycles, though, is not the only consideration with a battery. With a lithium battery, for example, the battery "ages" with time; the internal resistance gradually increases, reducing its charge capacity, regardless of how often it's charged. With a device like an ereader, this ageing effect totally swamps the effect of the number of charge cycles. With something like a laptop, it's the other way around; there, the number of charge cycles is what dominates.

[elcreative]

Originally Posted by Kumabjorn

How long before commercial products will be available?

Usual... don't hold your breath... 1st mentioned somewhere a couple of months ago but the key words are "research," development" and working to get in production...

[Kumabjorn]

Originally Posted by elcreative

Usual... don't hold your breath... 1st mentioned somewhere a couple of months ago but the key words are "research," development" and working to get in production...

So, not in my lifetime, I guess

[ApK]

Originally Posted by Kumabjorn

So, not in my lifetime, I guess

Heck, in some areas of technology, it could mean next Tuesday.

[Bricorn]

Originally Posted by Belfaborac

6000 cycles is bloody excellent, but what would be truly great is a combination of the breakthroughs in the first link and the one just above. As nice as a huge improvements in cycles is, a doubling, tripling or quadrupling of how long a charge lasts would be far better, even with no improvements in cycles.

6,000 cycles for a Kindle at (say) 2 weeks usage each time is........ a bloody long time! Waaaaayyyyyy longer than the lifespan of any device I've ever owned, it's into centuries, not decades.

While I applaud the new technology, for an e-reader I wouldn't pay a penny more for this (well, maybe a penny), the ereader will die long before the battery does (as will I).

[Penforhire]

Ah, but if the battery was removable and could be used in your 'next' device then its value goes up. Sort of how I don't feel too bad spending up for Sanyo's Eneloop AA's today.

[covfam]

Originally Posted by Penforhire

Ah, but if the battery was removable and could be used in your 'next' device then its value goes up. Sort of how I don't feel too bad spending up for Sanyo's Eneloop AA's today.

i like the eneloop batteries, they are in all my tv remotes and my wifes insulin pump and do wonderfull, plus they are great in my flashlight you have to like how long they can hold a charge without years, its signifgantly reduces the amount of batteries i use for "emergency" items.

[plib]

Originally Posted by covfam

i like the eneloop batteries, they are in all my tv remotes and my wifes insulin pump and do wonderfull, plus they are great in my flashlight you have to like how long they can hold a charge without years, its signifgantly reduces the amount of batteries i use for "emergency" items.

I like the Eneloops too and have a bunch of them, but Maha also make good low discharge batteries and what I think is the best charger on the market. It's gone a fair way towards paying for itself by rescuing old batteries for me. The Maha batteries are usually $5 or so cheaper for a set of 4 than the Eneloops and both the batteries and charger are frequently on sale at Newegg.