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Hitachi claims secret chemical formula will improve battery cathodes, double longevity
Before lithium-ion batteries, portable gadgets were a nightmare, forcing road warriors and Discman-toting teens to either swap disposable cells or deal with rechargables that (with few exceptions) were tricky to recharge. Of course, Li-ion batteries also have a downside: as laptop and cell phone users have no doubt found out, they too become disposable before long. One reason why is that acid in the electrolyte can corrode the cathode material -- and now, Hitachi claims it's found a way to strengthen its own. Using an undisclosed combination of elements to replace some of the manganese used in the company's cathodes, Hitachi claims they can strengthen their crystalline configuration to resist acid, reduce cost, and best of all, double the usable life of a lithium-ion cell to about ten years. We've heard similar claims before, of course, with other battery manufacturers promising us twenty years, but it looks like this technology might make it out of the lab. NEDO, a Japanese government organization, has commissioned Hitachi to bring these batteries to life for industrial applications like wind farms. Cell phones, sadly, will have to wait.
Watch footage of the next World at War DLC ... right now!
It's eight minutes footage of next month's Call of Duty: World at War Map Pack 2! Alright, alright, it's not the entire map pack, but it does feature the Russian trainyard themed, "Corrosion," as well as "Sub Pens," a map based in a submarine pen. Sure, we'd love to see video of the purported "hell hounds" coming to "Shi No Numa," the Nazi zombie infested part of the DLC, but wouldn't everyone? We're just going to have to wait until some more video hits the webs from WaW developer, Treyarch. For the whole schebang, hit the break and have a ball!Update: The YouTube video after the break has been replaced by a couple of GameSpy videos. Check out all their Map Pack 2 videos right here.[Thanks, John H.!]
