subject: How nanotechnology could let you go months without having to charge up your mobile [print this page] How nanotechnology could let you go months without having to charge up your mobile
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 batteries can last for weeks or months,' said Eric Pop of the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology.
Mr Pop claims his team's research could one day mean a mobile device like an iPhone could see hugely extended battery life, possibly to the point that it could run by harvesting thermal or solar energy rather than relying on a Motorola mobile phone 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 Nokia cell phone battery, such as satellites, 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 LG phone 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.
The world has always been full of nano-particles such as dust and pollen, even buckyballs are just a form of soot that occurs naturally. Just because scientists are exploiting these forms in by making them in large numbers does not mean that they are any more dangerous than any other molecule or atom that occur naturally. These nano scare stories are written by the scientifically illiterate. - adrian, nottingham, 11/3/2011 20:17 No it hasn't. The number of particulates have doubled over last 100 years. Nano particles will increase this 100 fold or more. They are not the same as normal particles of dust that your hepa filter can filter say in your vacuum cleaner or air filters. These would go straight through that, not only that they go straight through the cell membranes inflicting DNA damage as they go. You are very ill-informed and too trusting of the guys wanting to make a profit. Remember Asbestos was a wonder product but we know now it's a killer.
