Mobile Technology Needs Batteries
by
Randy Mears
I spend a fair amount of my time looking at mobile technologies of all sorts. Most have a common limitation - batteries. Mobile technologies seem forever tied to battery technology, a technology that appears to be exempt from Moore’s Law. So, while miniaturization helps us out with the battery situation, in the sense that chip miniaturization seems to decrease power consumption, the capacity of modern batteries (expressed as energy density) appears to be near the upper limit. The problem with traditional batteries is that their size isn’t shrinking as fast as the components that they power.
Hydrogen fuel cells are currently in vogue as the answer to mobile technology power problems, particularly on the transportation front but also for battery replacement. With greater energy density (current proposed production models are at 2 to 1 over lithium ion batteries) and rapid recharge, these battery replacements should do well. Emptying and refilling versus recharging seems an equitable trade, but it will take some getting used to. I can’t help but wonder what it would be like to “recharge” the really, really tiny ones.
I recently received a Web link from an associate that addresses the battery problem by using an old technology in a new way. By combining the concept of the capacitor with the magic of nanotubes, we may have a whole new approach.
