Tag: batteries

So this cold snap is killing batteries left and right…

…I saw a couple of people cursing at their dead cars this morning on the walk to school.  Which was a walk because my car battery died, too. I have to keep reminding myself that it’s better this happens now than in, say, two days in Pennsylvania.

Moe Lane

PS: I’m complaining here because I can’t complain to the car company that sold us the car right now.  And I mean can’t.  And why is that?  I’m glad you asked!  It’s because my landline phone’s battery died, too!  Must be more of the cold weather.  And as for my cell phone… well, let’s just say that, highly ironically, my cell phone is great for anything that doesn’t actually involve making a phone call.

Yes it’s been a stellar morning.  Did I mention that the kids are on half-day? Yeah, the kids are on half-day.

Alchemists create enchanted tamed lightning stones.

I figure that I might as well be honest about how well I understand the underlying physics of some of this stuff.

New Israeli battery provides thousands of hours of power

A new kind of portable electrochemical battery that can produce thousands of hours of power – and soon replace the expensive regular or rechargeable batteries in hearing aids and sensors and eventually in cellphones, laptop computers and even electric cars – has been developed at Haifa’s Technion-Israel Institute of Technology.

The unique battery is based on silicon as a fuel that reverts to its original sand. The battery can also be left on the shelf for years and inserted into a device to provide immediate power.

The good news is that these things are pretty inert, so they’ll have a long shelf life.  The bad news is that they aren’t generating enough power yet to run your car.  Come back in ten years for that.  But they’ll work for small, low-power items; expect medical sensors to start becoming even more wireless in a year or so, for example.

Cool stuff.