The number one technological hurdle separating humanity from the Jetson Future we deserve is developing a reliable power supply. Even today, we're barely even able to keep out phones alive through the evening commute. But a radical departure in Lithium ion battery technology could help keep our power-hungry gadgets…
Graphite is a common choice for anodes in Li-Ion battery systems but doesn't store much charge for its bulk. However, 3M's newly-devised electrode could boost battery life and replace the soft-carbon material for good.
Powered skateboards have been around since the early 90's, but they've always seemed to require extra components—from handheld throttles to Microsoft Kinect-based sensor arrays—that could never quite capture the feel of a conventional deck. The ZBoard, with an electric drivetrain and weight-sensor control system,…
Li-Ion batteries were a massive technological step forward from NiMH cells but were not without faults of their own—like their tendency to explode. A new Lithium-Imide technology from Leyden Energy, however, send Lithium-Ion the way of NiMH.
The Li-Ion Inizio holds the distinction of being one of the first all-electric supercars. It can hit speed up to 170 MPH and with a range of 250 miles. Now it's going into production and can be yours for $139,000.
There's no better way to say "Merry Christmas, dear friend" than with a double-bevel compound miter saw or a heavy-duty 18V impact driver. But before you pick up a cordless tool for that special someone, keep these five things in mind.
Doubling the Li-Ion battery life from 5 years, Hitachi reckons its new technology which extends the life of batteries will also cost less too—thanks to reducing the amount of cobalt used. Hitachi hopes to get them onto the production line in the next year. [Akihabara News]
Panasonic is going to be rolling out production of Li-ion batteries that use a silicon alloy anode soon, according to Nikkei. The result? A whopping 30% increase in capacity. Panasonic's not the only company working on the technology, but they're the first to yield any kind of spec detail.
Yeah, it's significantly (22 pounds) lighter than its lead acid counterpart, but the trustworthy car geeks at Jalopnik insist there's no way this thing is worth the $1,700 upgrade price. The phrase "overpaid, insecure idiots" came into play. [Jalopnik]
The biggest chokepoint in technology is a single roadblock: batteries. Amidst all of the amazing advances in the last 50 years, battery tech has remained fundamentally unchanged, engineers incrementally squeezing out a few extra drops of power from old tech each year. With better batteries, you wouldn't just be able…
Sheathing something as slick and pocketable as the iPhone in a holster feels wrong to me for many reasons, but this particular holster adds the handy ability to charge your drained batteries with its own rechargeable Li-ion battery back. It's good for one full charge before it needs to be recharged itself. Handy, and…
Researchers at UT Austin have devised a new way to create lithium iron phosphate-the compound inside high-density Li-ion batteries being developed for cars and power tools-that uses microwaves to cut costs. The new method requires lower temperatures (300° C rather than 700°) and less time to fabricate the phosphate…
Sure, we have heard word of lithium ion batteries being possibly implemented in a Prius before, but Mercedes-Benz is going beyond concept speculation with its S400 BlueHybrid, which promises Li-ion HEV action to be hitting the production lines by 2009. At present, that makes the S400 BlueHybrid the first Li-ion HEV…
Thanks to nanotechnology, an assistant professor at Stanford University has come up with a breakthrough in the longevity of Lithium-Ion batteries. As well as being able to power your laptop for up to 20 hours—10 times more than current levels—Yi Cui thinks that his design could also work on iPods and other handheld…
Japan Trust Technology announced an external 6000mAh lithium-ion battery pack to make sure your iPod can keep going and going. It gives you power for about 50 hours of extra playing time. It connects via the standard iPod port and fits the iPod 4G, the U2, color, Photo, mini and nano. It weighs just over 6 ounces…
There is nothing finer than trekking to base camp, roasting marshmallows around a campfire and climbing into the tent to snuggle inside the sleeping bag and watch Team America World Police on my PSP. Trouble is, the batteries run out after the first night. At least that was the case before I discovered
this Solar…
