40 hour laptop batteries?!

[WickedLou9]

Breakthrough Could Mean 40-Hour Laptop Batteries (NewsFactor) by NewsFactor: Yahoo! Tech

Imagine running your laptop nonstop from New York to Tokyo -- crunch some numbers, work on a memo pop in a few DVDs -- and then do a full day of meetings, using your machine throughout the day and into the night. Imagine doing all this without ever plugging in your computer to recharge its battery.
This scenario may become reality in the near future, if Stanford University scientists succeed in commercializing a breakthrough in the laboratory. Assistant Professor Yi Cui and associates at Stanford's Department of Materials Science and Engineering said they have developed a method to increase the life of rechargeable lithium ion batteries to a whopping 40 hours.
Publishing in the journal Nature Nanotechnology, the Stanford researchers have shown that by using silicon nanowires as the battery anode instead of today's graphite, the amount of lithium the anode can hold is extended tenfold.

The article goes in depth on how the technology works... but do you realize what the implications could be for a technology like this? Imagine using this sort of battery on an electric car. Suddenly instead of 40 miles, 400 miles. That's equal to what a standard gasoline car can do today. If the electric car suddenly can compete on range with gasoline cars... look out!

I really hope this makes it to market.

[David Octavius]

Sounds interesting, but i wouldn't have it on my lap, I don't think I would like having my crotch on fire

[jorden]

Its really a great thing.