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.