Paper batteries anyone?

Footie

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 16, 2007
549
10
Cornwall. PL27
Interesting report about paper batteries, a specific mention is made to powering electric or hybrid vehicles.

The article is reproduced below, as these stories have a habit of disappearing after a time.

Is this the future? .... Does it mean we will all have to carry a pack of toilet rolls with us and forever be chased by Andrex puppies :eek:

Comments anyone?

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Scientists say paper battery could be in the works

Scientists say paper battery could be in the works - Yahoo! News

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Ordinary paper could one day be used as a lightweight battery to power the devices that are now enabling the printed word to be eclipsed by e-mail, e-books and online news.

Scientists at Stanford University in California reported on Monday they have successfully turned paper coated with ink made of silver and carbon nanomaterials into a "paper battery" that holds promise for new types of lightweight, high-performance energy storage.

The same feature that helps ink adhere to paper allows it to hold onto the single-walled carbon nanotubes and silver nanowire films. Earlier research found that silicon nanowires could be used to make batteries 10 times as powerful as lithium-ion batteries now used to power devices such as laplop computers.

"Taking advantage of the mature paper technology, low cost, light and high-performance energy-storage are realized by using conductive paper as current collectors and electrodes," the scientists said in research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

This type of battery could be useful in powering electric or hybrid vehicles, would make electronics lighter weight and longer lasting, and might even lead someday to paper electronics, the scientists said. Battery weight and life have been an obstacle to commercial viability of electric-powered cars and trucks.

"Society really needs a low-cost, high-performance energy storage device, such as batteries and simple supercapacitors," Stanford assistant professor of materials science and engineering and paper co-author Yi Cui said.

Cui said in an e-mail that in addition to being useful for portable electronics and wearable electronics, "Our paper supercapacitors can be used for all kinds of applications that require instant high power."

"Since our paper batteries and supercapacitors can be very low cost, they are also good for grid-connected energy storage," he said.

Peidong Yang, professor of chemistry at the University of California-Berkeley, said the technology could be commercialized within a short time.

(Writing by Jackie Frank; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
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Pedalo

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 10, 2009
443
1
I remember during a science lesson at school (too many years ago) we made a battery from a potato.

This chap took it a step further:
500 lb Potato Battery

I wonder how many you'd need to string together to power a bike - and whether they'd actually pull their own weight...
 

CeeGee

Esteemed Pedelecer
Feb 4, 2009
328
0
Weybridge, UK
Paper battery - great in the wet weather :D :D

I prefer the potato method - at least if they heat up they will cook themselves and you can eat them. this will provide you with enough energy to push the pedals yourself.

I am working on building a gin and tonic battery at the moment, but the gin keeps disappearing.;)

Colin
 

Abs_N

Pedelecer
Apr 28, 2009
67
0
LOL :D

The stories in the papers seem too far from reality.

It reminds me of the old TV documentaries about what the future would be like, with flying cars and robots that did everything for you.

:D