Wednesday, September 5, 2007

Ultracapacitor wave of the future?

Isn’t that what Doc Brown used in Back to the Future?! I know, I know, it was a flux capacitor and it required plutonium to achieve 1.21 gigawatts of power – so this is even better than Back to the Future (except for the time travel part…)

This Associated Press article was buried in the business section yesterday about a new patent filing for “technologies for replacement of electrochemical batteries,” which apparently could power an electric car for 500 miles on a five minute charge. It looks like some scientists are pretty skeptical, but if this technology were to pan out it would change the way we think about energy. We’re talking about the demise of the combustion engine, the replacement of the battery, and the efficient storage of solar power. Great Scott! And all without that pesky plutonium black market. Can it clean up after my cat too?

For the benefit of my Canadian readers (and I know you’re out there), here is the Canadianized version of the AP story, complete with kilometers.

2 comments:

Kevin L. Richardson said...

1.21 gigawatts!!!

This is very interesting. However I lean more towards another Back to the Future technology. Who wouldn't buy "Mr. Fusion". Powering your car, house, etc with the waste we all generate on a daily basis.

I'll bet Mr. Fusion cleans up after your cat too.

Mr. Fusion lives...

Brian said...

Ahh, the Mr. Fusion is brilliant! 2015 doesn't seem that far away anymore, does it? Maybe they'll have it perfected by then. I'll cross my fingers for the flying cars.