New Li-on Extends Battery Life by Up to 10 Times

We have a lot to be thankful for nanotechnology even though most of us cannot really comprehend its dynamic concept. With this technology, Stanford Researches have created a way to extend the rechargeable lithium ion batteries for mobile phones, laptops and media players up to 10 times.

Indeed, this is a revolutionary development as people are becoming more dependent with these devices to run their lives and businesses. For instance, a laptop today has an average battery life of 2 hours. With this technology, it can be extended for 20 hours.

It’s very interesting to know that some brilliant minds have paid attention to battery life for many are so engrossed with developing new features and designs.

According to Yi Cui, the lead researcher, this major improvement lies on silicon nanowires. Here is a brief technical explanation from nanotechwires.com:

Silicon placed in a battery swells as it absorbs positively charged lithium atoms during charging, then shrinks during use (i.e., when playing your iPod) as the lithium is drawn out of the silicon. This expand/shrink cycle typically causes the silicon (often in the form of particles or a thin film) to pulverize, degrading the performance of the battery.

Cui's battery gets around this problem with nanotechnology. The lithium is stored in a forest of tiny silicon nanowires, each with a diameter one-thousandth the thickness of a sheet of paper. The nanowires inflate four times their normal size as they soak up lithium. But, unlike other silicon shapes, they do not fracture.