Teen

[Hum]

A California teen?s invention could potentially knock down cellphone-charging time to a superfast 20 seconds.

So far, the energy-storage device has powered only an LED light, but it has the potential to do much more.

The future certainly looks bright for 18-year-old Eesha Khare, who pocketed a $50,000 prize for the Young Scientist award from the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Phoenix, Ariz., for her tiny and possibly revolutionary device.

Khare sees the device as potentially powering car batteries, cellphones or any electronics that could use a rechargeable battery.

?My cellphone always dies,? Khare explained to NBC San Francisco, when asked what inspired her invention.

The supercapacitor, she explains on CBS San Francisco, is ?basically an energy source device that can hold a lot of energy in a small amount of volume.?

The Harvard-bound teen has caught the attention of Google, who has approached her about her device.

Regardless of what happens to the supercapacitor, we're sure to hear more from the high school senior?at least according to Khare. ?I?m going to be setting the world on fire,? she said.

source & video

[majortom1981]

I thought the problem was the battery itself . Not how your charging it?

[+Warwagon MVC]

At the end of the video .... "First she will recharge her own batteries"

Well that was just dirty

[winrez]

here I thought it would be 1,000 potatoes wired to a USB charger ;)

[Sandor]

?I?m going to be setting the world on fire,? she said.

Bet this is the last time we hear from her.

[RatherLargeBear]

Sounds a lot like the work that Professor Kaner and PhD candidate Maher El-Kady of UCLA already done around a month ago.

[LUTZIFER]

Bet this is the last time we hear from her.

Obviously not, der.

[FloatingFatMan]

?I?m going to be setting the world on fire,? she said.

Some people just want to watch the world burn!

[Astra.Xtreme]

I wish the article explained more into what she invented. Supercaps have been around for a long time, so she must have broken through one of the limitations. Supercaps have a really low energy density, so maybe she figured out a way to improve that.

[Hum]

Bet this is the last time we hear from her.

The NSA will give her a ride to the desert ... :ninja:

[Karl L.]

My understanding is that the problem with modern batteries is not that we can't charge them quickly, it's just that the faster we charge them the fewer charge cycles they can sustain before they fail. Capacitors are not a silver bullet either. They charge and discharge rapidly, but they have the same fundamental limitation, hence their ratings. I think this article needs more technical detail; it's much too vague to assess whether what this student did is truly innovative.

The higher amps necessary for rapid charge heats up the battery, which shortens battery life. It also causes more gas to form in the liquid (acid) in the battery. This gas is hydrogen, and is highly explosive. Hydrogen gas can build up enough pressure to swell or explode the battery, which is extremely dangerous.

Source: http://wiki.answers....t_car_batteries

Addition Reading:

The fast and the flexible: Graphene foam batteries charge quickly

Electrode lets lithium batteries charge in just two minutes

[nrjperera]

Somethings are just out there, waiting for the right time to knock on your door.

Just the fact that even the multi-billion companies like Google and Apple missed this technology is surely amazing.

In the end an 18-year-old discovers it.

Life sucks for everyone, except for these lucky people

[Yusuf M. Veteran]

My understanding is that the problem with modern batteries is not that we can't charge them quickly, it's just that the faster we charge them the fewer charge cycles they can sustain before they fail. Capacitors are not a silver bullet either. They charge and discharge rapidly, but they have the same fundamental limitation, hence their ratings. I think this article needs more technical detail; it's much too vague to assess whether what this student did is truly innovative.

Source: http://wiki.answers....t_car_batteries

Addition Reading:

The fast and the flexible: Graphene foam batteries charge quickly

Electrode lets lithium batteries charge in just two minutes

Yeah. The article talks more about the potential applications of her invention than the invention itself. Powering a single LED isn't an impressive feat because it uses as little as 30 mW. The most important thing is battery life, not charging speed. I'd rather have a battery that takes 2-3 hours to fully charge and can hold a charge for a long time instead of one that charges in 30 seconds and doesn't last an hour.