batteries

science
July 4, 2012
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A cotton T-shirt may one day charge your cell phone

By on July 4, 2012 at 6:30 PM.

A cotton T-shirt may one day charge your cell phone

T-shirt Battery

Two engineers at the University of South Carolina conducted research that showed a modified store-bought T-shirt can act like a supercapacitor and store an electrical charge. “We wear fabric every day,” said Xiaodong Li, a professor of mechanical engineering at the school. “One day our cotton T-shirts could have more functions; for example, a flexible energy storage device that could charge your cell phone or your iPad.” Li and his associates used a store-bought T-shirt, which was then soaked in a fluoride solution and baked at a high temperature in an oxygen-free oven. Once removed, the resulting fibers were converted from cellulose to activated carbon capable of storage an electrical charge.

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Hardware
February 17, 2011
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Apple to improve battery life by increasing cell density

By on February 17, 2011 at 10:04 PM.

Apple to improve battery life by increasing cell density

An Apple patent uncovered on Thursday describes new technology Apple is experimenting with in an effort to increase the battery life in its device lines. The patent filing, entitled Increasing Energy Density in Rechargeable Lithium Battery Cells, describes a unique multi-pronged approach to the problem of poor battery life in consumer electronics. Apple is investigating the use of a new “multi-step constant-current constant-voltage (CC-CV) charging technique,” which would increase the volumetric and gravimetric energy density of energy-storing material within a battery. According to the filing, this would increase the capacity of a battery without impacting battery size or charge time. Relative to competitive products, Apple’s mobile device and laptop lines are often praised for exhibiting impressive battery life. There can never be enough time in between charges, however, and as more features and better displays are added to future devices, manufacturers will always struggle to ensure battery life is not overly degraded as a result. More →

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General
August 25, 2010
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Garmin recalling 1.25 million nüvi navigation devices

By on August 25, 2010 at 3:32 PM.

Garmin recalling 1.25 million nüvi navigation devices

Just a quick PSA: Garmin has just announced that they are voluntarily recalling 1.25 million nüvi navigation units due to the possibility of faulty batteries. A press release explains that some devices, with a specific printed circuit board design, could contain defective third-party batteries that, “in rare circumstances, increase the possibility of overheating, which may lead to a fire hazard.” The nüvi models affected include those with the model numbers 200W, 250W, 260W, 7xx and 7xxT. If you want to determine if your nüvi is being recalled you can visit garmin.com/nuvibatterypcbrecall to check. We have the full press release after the break. More →

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General
March 8, 2010
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Energizer Duo USB charger software has trojan on board

By on March 8, 2010 at 11:34 AM.

Energizer Duo USB charger software has trojan on board

Energizer USB DUO

The Duo seems to have been a failed experiment for battery maker Energizer in more ways than one. Sales of the USB nickle-metal battery charging station never really took off, and now, via a press release, the company has announced the monitoring software distributed with the Duo packs a fairly nasty Windows trojan. The rogue code, according to Computerworld: “listens for commands on TCP port 7777… can download and execute files, transmit files stolen from the PC, or tweak the Windows registry. The Trojan automatically executes each time the PC is turned on, and remains active, even if the Energizer charger is not connected to the machine.” Energizer released a statement saying: “Energizer is currently working with both CERT and U.S. government officials to understand how the code was inserted in the software.”  More →

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