University of Illinois researchers have developed what they claim is the world's smallest working
fuel cell, and it's certainly a good bit
tinier than anything we've seen. The itty-bitty battery measures 3 mm x 3 mm x 1 mm and is comprised of just four layers: a water reservoir, a thin membrane, a chamber of metal hydride, and an assembly of electrodes. It can produce 0.7 volts and a 0.1 milliamp current for about 30 hours, with a newer model boasting similar voltage and 1 milliamp of current. That's not gonna juice your BlackBerry anytime soon, but scientists suggest it could be used for simple electronics and microbots. As for future application, we're hoping one day can power a fingernail-sized smartphone.
[Via
Register Hardware]
posted Jan 23rd 2009 9:51PM
it's just like my teeth's fm radio.
Kudos on the headline.
i agree. i see what they did there. golf claps are in order.
You missed the perfect opportunity to use the tired "I see what you did there" comment!
NM didn't read the schmuck's comment above mine...
YES!
Now my cell phones can run off of piss.
Or rather, now you can piss on your cell phone. (I still don't see where piss comes in... that's what she said.)
What does "high potential, low voltage" even mean?
High potential means that it can be used in a variety of devices, limited to your imagination.
But Low Voltage pertains to it's capability of pumping 0.7 volts and 0.1 milliamp or 1mA.... For 30 hours. An old fashioned button cell battery can provide more than that.
There's also a play on words that Aguiliz didn't elucidate... Jokes for electrical engineers....
Voltages are differences in electric potential, which accelerate electrons.
I should add that high potentials and low voltages are perfectly fine. The voltage is the potential difference - the terminals could be at a billion volts and one billion + 0.7V (potential), and the PD would only be 0.7V.
So the pun makes scientific sense! What's the opposite of being anal? Oral?
Opposite of anal is mature.
omg its brilliant.. finger-nail sized smartphone! Comes in two parts, one to stick on your thumb-nail for the earpiece and other on the pinky for the mic
lol...high potential...low voltage
this means every cell is 2.1mAh
-all we need is 1000 of these and you get 2100mAh..
-5 of these, in series would give you potential difference of 3.5 Volts
-and 200 of these "5 in series" units, put in parallel would ramp the current up and will make a PDA battery that lasts 2 days.. :)
too bad my phone already delivers 1000mah in the same volume as 500 of these... not exactly cost effective since you can't recharge and would only get 20ma per 1000 units at 3.5v instead of about ten times that with lithium and about a hundred times that with a good old nicad
And each cell gets 3mAh not 2.1. They get 2.1mWh
the real question is - can it run crysis at 100fps?
As-is? Nope.
But en-masse - as in thousands of them - can run a PC that runs Crysis.
The REAL question is - why are you still in 2007?
Neat!
wtf is up with small shiv on a huge finger today?
Yes. The title is amazing.
Just a little giggle for all us electronic/electricity nerds.
Yep
I lol'd heartily.
here's my two cents: it's best to start small and work up, especially with tech as dangerous as fuel cells. kudos to the guys who created it. keep on innovating.
But will it blend?
Yeah, that's a great headline... I laughed. God, I'm such a nerd.
A Water Reservoir?
It runs on water? Great news. You just may have to spit on it?
wow, look at the size of that finger, must have found some mutant with foot-long fingers!
Hasn't anybody though that they may have jsut crafted a metre wide finger,
then jsut put a little spray painted cd case on it saying it was a fuel cell?
Nee, i must be paranoid
Not to rain on anyone's parade, but we've got devices that can deliver this at this size since a looooong time. There are many tiny capacitors that can hold 0.03 watts of power (and much more). Granted, the interface electronics aren't as easy since they have to deal with voltage variation, but still.
Guess this is another "green-sounding" technology that's being put into places where it will never perform. The way of the future is storing powerfull, yet small magnetic fields. The future is supercapacitors.
So let's see, you need 4 to get 2.8 volt, then you have 2.8v 0.1mA, so do that 200 times to get 20mA, makes 200 times 4 = 800 of these to power 1 standard LED.
Now let's use the suggested 1mA version you'd still be looking at 20 times 4 = 80 of them for just a standard LED.
In short, they should make them bigger since this is pointless.
Make that thing about 50 times bigger and then we'll talk.
what part of "world's smallest" dont you understand?
What part of my "this is pointless" tone did you not understand?
alex, the point is..... well look at it this way
whats the biggest technological advance we still have not gotten to?
batteries,
the highest powered batteries with the lowest cost of production and best efficiency
think about it, current laptop batteries last for a short time ( i mean charge wise some run 6-10hrs on heavy use)
now whichever company manages to create a battery that is not only small but lasts longer (far longer than 12 hrs on a single charge) and has the capacity to run say..... 4 laptops or more at once on a single charge, will not only shoot up on the market financially but will also allow MORE technological advances:
faster laptops,
car batteries that allow for better MPG efficiency,
also emergency room or blackout prone areas would have better alternative power when needed
not to mention more efficient medical devices
the best advances have come from experiments, this small fuel cell is one
I'm sure there are some guys here that have tried to sell that "worlds smallest" and "high potential" garbage to women for years.
*read: fan boys*