ENERGY SOURCES
20. Bye-Bye Batteriesby Susannah Patton
Imagine chatting on your mobile phone for months at a time without recharging it. Or taking a laptop on a weeklong business trip without a battery or power cord. That's the goal of scientists around the world working to perfect tiny fuel cells using microtechnology engineering.
While broad adoption of fuel cells for cars and buildings is still at least a decade away, energy experts expect fuel cells for consumer electronics to become a reality as soon as this year. Prototypes for fuel cell-powered PDAs and handsets already exist, and more can be expected this year. "The first mass consumer applications are going to be in the portable area because batteries can't quite cut it anymore," says Peter Bance, CEO of CMR Fuel Cells in Cambridge, England.
Fuel cells have long been the great hope of alternative power advocates, who envision them running everything from buildings to cars, using hydrogen instead of fossil fuels. The concept is straightforward: fuel cells work by converting chemical energy into electrical energy and heat. Unlike batteries, fuel cells are powered by fuel - usually some form of hydrogen - and need to be refuelled rather than recharged. So far, however, they have been too large and too expensive to gain mass appeal. For example, installing a fuel cell generator costs five to 10 times more than a natural gas generator, says Steve Taub, director of distributed energy global gas and power at Cambridge Energy Research Associates in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
While researchers work to reduce the size of fuel cells, the race for consumer applications is on. A researcher at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California has made a fuel cell designed to power consumer electronics using replaceable fuel cartridges filled with methanol. Each fuel cell cartridge would last two to three times as long as a lithium battery lasts on a single charge. Jeff Morse, a researcher in the lab's centre for microtechnology, adds that they still need to work on some "materials issues", such as thermal insulation for the fuel cells. But once those challenges are mastered, he says, next generation mobile phones and hybrid personal devices could take off.
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- White PaperJoin Ed Thompson, Research VP, featured analyst firm, Gartner, Inc., and Brad Wilson, General Manager CRM Microsoft Dynamics, for a new webcast, Delivering the Power of Choice with Microsoft Dynamics CRM, available now. Our panel will break down the best practices for getting the most out of CRM and you'll learn key recommendations you can implement in your organization. Additionally, you'll also hear Microsoft's vision for CRM.
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CIO Live Podcast #76: Panasonic Speeds Up Trans-Pacific File Transfers, Part II 14 September, 2007 07:00:00
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CIO Live Podcast #75: Panasonic Speeds Up Trans-Pacific File Transfers, Part I 07 September, 2007 07:00:05
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Data breaches rose sharply in 2008, says study 08 January, 2009 08:27:00
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Rogue SSL certificate exploit puts VeriSign on the spot 07 January, 2009 11:04:00
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With Gaza conflict, cyberattacks come too 05 January, 2009 08:03:00
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5 ways to secure your Blackberry 18 December, 2008 12:58:00
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Wireless VPNs: Protecting the wireless wanderer 18 December, 2008 11:04:00
Employees sipping café Java over their wireless laptops may think a VPN makes them safe and secure. With careful configuration, there's some chance they're rightEmployees sipping café Java over their wireless laptops may think a VPN makes them safe and secure. With careful configuration, there's some chance they're right.
Research software developer appoints Susan Dart to new Business Development Director role 08 January, 2009 09:08:00
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Fortinet Cures Mobile Phone “Curse of Silence/CurseSMS” Attack 07 January, 2009 16:30:00
SEAGATE SHIPS DESKTOP HARD DRIVE WITH WORLD’S HIGHEST AREAL DENSITY – 500GB PER DISK 06 January, 2009 15:34:00
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Taking On Demand CRM Integration to the Next Level
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