A RECHARGEABLE battery that can be fully charged in just 6 minutes, lasts 10 times as long as today’s rechargeables and can provide bursts of electricity up to three times more powerful is showing promise in a Nevada lab.
New types of battery are badly needed. Nokia’s chief technologist Yrjö Neuvo warned last year that batteries are failing to keep up with the demands of the increasingly energy-draining features being crammed into mobile devices (New Scientist, 28 February 2004, p 21).
The highest energy-per-weight ratio in today’s batteries is provided by lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries. They are also cheaper in…
