subject: Nanotechnology, like this miniscule microchip being carried by an ant may extend battery life [print this page] Nanotechnology, like this miniscule microchip being carried by an ant may extend battery life
No need to hang up: Research involving nanotechnology could mean mobile phone batteries lasting months between charges
A flat battery on your mobile phone can leave you in a sticky situation, but new research could mean you might go months without charging it.
A team of electrical and computer engineers at an Illinois university may have solved the problem by using nanotubes' carbon tubes 10,000 times smaller than a human hair.
The scientists replaced the metal wiring in mobile devices' batteries with the nanotubes and believe the changes could extend battery life by up to 100 times.
I think anyone who is dealing with a lot of chargers and plugging things in every night can relate to wanting a cell phone or laptop whose Sony VGP-BPS2C Batteriescan last for weeks or months,' said Eric Pop of the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Battery Technology.
Mr Pop claims his team's research could one day mean a mobile device like an iPhone could see hugely extended laptop battery life, possibly to the point that it could run by harvesting thermal or solar energy rather than relying on a Acer aspire 5520 battery.
The research could also prove groundbreaking for devices much larger than mobile phones or portable computers.
We're not just talking about lightening our pockets or purses,' Mr Pop explained.
This is also important for anything that has to operate on a HP 338794-001 battery, such as Toshiba satellite laptop battery, telecommunications equipment in remote locations, or any number of scientific and military applications.'
The group believe their latest study is just the beginning for improving Toshiba PA3456U-1BRS battery life and hope to make devices' power consumption 1,000 times more efficient.
The findings, published in a report in the Science journal, come in the same week that Google admitted up to 260,000 smartphones had been hacked after handset users unwittingly downloaded virus-infected apps.
The threat came to light last week when the technology giant was forced to withdraw at least 50 apps from its official Android Market.
