Smartphones have become an essential tool in every line of work, from corporate accounting to carpentry. But often times those working on construction sites don’t have easy access to a power outlet for a quick top-off when needed. They do, however, have access to power tools. And with this clever adapter they can harness a drill or saw’s rechargeable battery to recharge their electronics.
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Li-on batteries are great and all, but there’s a barrier preventing them from storing much more power: they, um, tend to catch fire
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Spending days traveling, going camping over the weekend, or spending several hours in a waiting room all have something in common: high odds of your smartphone or tablet’s battery dying before you’re ready to bid your gadget farewell. Portable chargers mitigate this issue by providing an on-the-go charging option, and new to the category is […]
Tesla head Elon Musk has posted a missive to us in the media, who have as a group led consumers to believe the electronic vehicle brand is more fire-prone than gas-powered vehicles. The facts support Musk’s claims that Tesla is far and away the safest car brand on the road today. Yet the company is […]
Battery technology is continually evolving, with modern batteries being both more resilient and longer-lasting than batteries from days gone by. There is still quite a bit of improvement that can take place with them, however, one of which concerns the longevity of the batteries — that is, their lifespan before no longer being usable. Scientists […]
In the race to create a better battery, scientists have gazed longingly at silicon, prized for its ability to hold copious energy during charging. The material has a significant drawback, however: it likes to expand during said charging, causing it to eventually crack and become useless. However, scientists at Stanford’s SLAC laboratory have developed silicon electrodes that repair themselves, inspired by — of all things — the latest research into robotic skin. They created a silicon polymer with weak chemical bonds which attract each other when the material cracks, allowing it to regain its shape in a few hours (as pictured above). The team managed a respectable 100 discharge cycles with a battery that used the material, a promising start but still far from their goal of 3,000 cycles for an electric vehicle. You can add that to the growing pile of promising battery tech that may amount to something, some day — but at least the odds keep getting better.
Filed under: Misc, Peripherals, Alt
Via: Forbes
Source: Nature
We’ve seen plenty of wearables with solar panels built into them, but how about the most obvious wearable: sunglasses? That’s exactly what these Ray-Ban “Shama” concept sunglasses are. The temples (arms) of the sunglasses capture sunlight throughout the day, and you plug them into your iPhone when the sun goes down. One of the temples […]
The problem with lithium ion batteries is that the more discharge cycles you put them through, the less efficient the negative electrode becomes at holding electrons. This just won’t do in our mobile future, so researchers at Stanford University have developed a battery that actually heals itself. It’s nearly alive.
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With seemingly unlimited celestial power, it only makes sense that Thor should share a little bit of the Mjölnir Hammer’s capabilities with humanity when he’s not battling Loki or alien invaders. After all, a dead smartphone can be just as catastrophic to some people as the world ending. And while it might not be Thor’s exact hammer, this version of the Mjölnir is far more useful to humans addicted to their phones.
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An iPad Air spontaneously combusted this week in a Vodafon store in Canberra, Australia, filling the store with smoke and sending a continuous stream of sparks flying from the charging port of the device. The store was evacuated, the fire brigade was called, and the spectacular flaming tablet was officially extinguished. No one was injured […]
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