Hasta La Gadget!

So far your footsteps, breath and nervous energy have all been tapped to charge up batteries, and now researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology scientists have pulled it off using thermal changes. They did it with so-called pyroelectric nanogenerators, which use polarization changes to harvest heat energy from temperature fluctuations. Normally output current is too low for commercial electronics, but by making one with lead zirconate titanate (PZT), the team was able to create a device that could charge a Li-ion coin battery to power a green LED for a few seconds. The researchers predict that by doubling the surface area, they could drive wireless sensors or LCDs using only environmental temperature changes from an engine or water pipe, for instance. The result could be green power, but without all that pesky moving around.

Filed under: Peripherals, Science, Alt

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Via: Phys Org

Source: Nano Letters

Need to make a call but run out of juice? Just give your cellphone a shake for an extra burst of power – that’s the idea behind a new cellphone charger that turns movement into energy. More »

Is your cell phone dead and there’s nary an outlet in sight? It’s not an issue if you’re feeling zesty and also toting a BoostTurbine hand charger, which Eton just announced as part of its new portable charger lineup. The BoostTurbine2000 and 1000 model numbers denote the mAh of the batteries in each device, which can borrow volts from a conventional outlet, then transfer up to a full or half charge (respectively) to most smartphones. In a pinch, though, you can pop out the hand-crank and grab about 30 seconds of call time for each minute of sweat equity, according to the company (depending on your motivation, natch). The BoostTurbine2000 will set you back $59 while the 1000 model will run $49, and both are now available at Eton’s store. The company also outed a new line of regular plug-in portable chargers — it’s all in the PR after the break.

Continue reading Eton announces Boost line, lets you crank your way to a charged phone

Filed under: Misc, Peripherals

Eton announces Boost line, lets you crank your way to a charged phone originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Oct 2012 11:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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On Wednesday night, Stanford Ovshinsky, inventor of the nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) battery, passed away at the age of 89 due to complications from cancer. The Akron, Ohio native may not be a household name, but there’s a good chance that many of your electronics have been powered by his work, as NiMH batteries are used in everything from mice to hybrid cars. A self-taught inventor who didn’t attend college, Ovshinsky held hundreds of patents, received a number of honorary degrees and is even the namesake of a branch of electronics dubbed Ovonics. Flat-panel displays, solar cells and even phase change memory are just a handful of other technologies that his work helped to develop. Next time you pick up a modern gadget, just remember that Ovshinsky is partly responsible for its existence.

[Image credit: Joi Ito, Flickr]

Filed under: Science

Stanford Ovshinsky, inventor of the NiMH battery, passes away at 89 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 19 Oct 2012 06:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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For the longest time, battery manufacturers have mostly only been focusing on how to make lithium-ion batteries smaller and thinner, while still offering as much capacity as possible. However, researchers are now coming up with ways to make lithium-ion batteries charge up quicker — more specifically, twice as fast than the average charge time.

The new algorithms that researchers have discovered simply track exactly where lithium ions are within the battery cells to allow for a more accurate battery reading. The way that batteries charge now is less efficient, meaning that it takes no time at all to charge your phone to 80%, but the last 20% usually takes forever. Once the battery hits an 80% charge, it will start to slowly allow small sips of electricity into the battery until it thinks that it’s completely full, based upon software calculations.

However, these new algorithms with completely get rid of the slowness that occurs during that last 20%, and then some. By simply knowing exactly how full a battery is at all times in its charging process, it will no longer have to slow down and guess how full it is. It sounds like a simple idea that makes us wonder why this wasn’t the plan in the first place.

This new technology actually isn’t so advanced and so expensive that it would be a long way off, and the researchers say that the new charging technology will easily be in devices like smartphones, tablets, and laptops. In other words, you won’t be hard-pressed to find it in most consumer electronics in a few years.

[via Engadget]

New algorithms may be able to charge mobile devices twice as fast is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
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