Maybe super-capacitor batteries might be the next big thing but I haven't heard much about them lately.
-KeithP
OP FAIL
It's called a battery not a generator for a reason.
Look at EVERY mobile devices we use:
Smartphones, iPod, flashlight, fleshlight, cameras, laptops, netbooks, e-readers, PSP/DS, emergency defibrillators, everything!
We are still using the same battery technology from decades ago. We are still restricted and bound by the same problem that's been plaguing us since day 1.
When will the next break through come? I saw a vid about remote/wireless charging.... what happened to that?
No way to tell. It seems like I've read about promising battery technology using nanotechnology, but I dunno.
It could be next year or it could be 10 years from now. Hopefully we find something, though, because our battery technology does indeed suck.
I used to get a couple hours tops out of regular batteries in the Walkman days. Now my mp3 player gets 24 hours plus on built-in rechargeable lithium. So while it's not moving ahead by leaps and bounds it's at least progressing.
You most certainly have it backwards.I think battery tech has made pretty decent steps. I mean a battery now could probably keep a cell phone from the late 90's charged for days or weeks at a time.
We are creating electronics that just eat up more and more power, yet we are able to continually some up with ways to keep them charged for a day. The screens they are making these days are really tough on the batteries.
I have one of those Acer laptops that advertise 8hr battery life(in reality I get about 6). But most laptops I have owned start at about 2 hrs and go down gradually.
Just what I was going to say. Our devices use less power than those of yesterday. They would use even less power if they didn't have all the features stacked into them.You most certainly have it backwards.
As technology advances, it uses less power, not more. This advancement is way, way faster than battery technology advancement.
a 1100mAh battery from today would run the phone just as long as a 1100mAh battery from the 90s. The newer battery might be slightly smaller and lighter, but not significantly so. The difference is that a phone from the 90s probably uses at least twice as much power as the newer phone. So the battery would only last half as long..
How much of that increase is from the miniaturization and efficiency increases of the MP3 player's components vs the Walkman's?
What advanced more? The battery, or everything else?
While the electronics have gotten more efficient the batteries are being asked to do more. In the Walkman days they were not powering graphics displays. There are still plenty of older battery operated devices and there are many modern rechargeable batteries that will fit them. Pretty simple to do a test and see what's really happened. Wait, never mind, thousands of people have already done said tests. And on high drain devices like cameras and mp3 players when tested head-to-head in the same gadgets the modern rechargeable batteries often last 5 to 10 times longer than the disposables. Want to chalk that up to the efficiency of the components?
While the electronics have gotten more efficient the batteries are being asked to do more. In the Walkman days they were not powering graphics displays. There are still plenty of older battery operated devices and there are many modern rechargeable batteries that will fit them. Pretty simple to do a test and see what's really happened. Wait, never mind, thousands of people have already done said tests. And on high drain devices like cameras and mp3 players when tested head-to-head in the same gadgets the modern rechargeable batteries often last 5 to 10 times longer than the disposables. Want to chalk that up to the efficiency of the components?
Hmm.. I don't think you quite get it.
"Being asked to do more" as in tasks does not matter. It's the overall energy draw. If you realized how much energy an electric motor draws, you would understand how eliminating that aspect of a music player would dramatically extend battery life.
The batteries in modern MP3 players are much smaller than the capacity of two AA batteries....
Anyway, don't underestimate how much power the miniaturization of components can save. Comparing an MP3 player to a walkman isn't really fair. But I'm sure you could find evidence of this in the evolution of both products. I bet the first walkman draws at least 2x the power any newer one does. Likewise, I would be willing to bet the first MP3 player also draws twice as much power as any current ones.
If the first Walkman drew 500mA, the last generation would only be drawing 250mA.(Can you still get walkmans? lol)
If the first MP3 player drew 100mA, current ones are only drawing 50mA.
Of course, "twice as much" may be an under or overstatement, depending. I imagine it being a lot easier to half the walkman power consumption than it would be to half the MP3 player consumption. But maybe not.. just giving ideas.
because our battery technology does indeed suck.
Show me a (consumer available) battery from ten years ago that could fit in the palm of your hand and put out over 100 amps at 11.1 volts.
Nicads, not a problem at all. How long can they do it for, though, and how hot do they get...
http://www.a123systems.com/
Nuff said.
P.S.: This is not a troll post. The link is to a company that is developing an advanced Li ion battery technology.
Not just batteries for hand held or mobile devices, but just power storage in general has lagged significantly behind other technology. If you think about it, our power producing plants all have to be able to support peak power at all time because there still isn't an efficient way to store generated power for use at a later time. Sure, you can do it, but it's relatively expensive and cumbersome. Power generation would be A LOT cheaper if you could capture the power generated during off times (like middle of the night) and use it during peak usage time.
There are many ways of storing energy on a large scale.
-Compressed air, stored underground.
-Pumped-storage hydropower.
-Flywheel storage.
Mechanical > chemical for large scale energy storage at this point in time I'd say.
This is ripped straight from the July issue of National Geographic.
(I'm hoping for pocket sized cold fusion in my lifetime though. I want my flying car dammit!)
I used to get a couple hours tops out of regular batteries in the Walkman days. Now my mp3 player gets 24 hours plus on built-in rechargeable lithium. So while it's not moving ahead by leaps and bounds it's at least progressing.