lithium ion batteries

Bolivia is primarily known for two things: being the poorest country in South America, and having a president with a terrible haircut. However, it might soon be known for a third thing: lithium. Turns out Bolivia has the world's largest reserves of the light metal, and according to Foreign Policy, that positions Bolivia as the Saudi Arabia of our carbon-less, battery-powered future.

Soldiers sometimes lug more than 30 pounds of batteries to run GPS units and other critical gear, so San Francisco company Ardica set out to give them a lighter power pack. Now a civilian version lets the rest of us charge our phones—and stay warm. Ardica’s Moshi Power System is the first to charge your heated winter clothes, like this jacket from Mountain Hardwear, and your gadgets.

I'm not sure what sparked my battery obsession. Perhaps it was the installation of 3,000 lbs of lead-acid batteries used to power my homestead. Shortly after that, I found myself zapping old Ni-CD based battery packs with a welder to bring the once-dead batteries back to life. Then I began repacking the cells of other household items, including my iRobot vac and my Macbook. Now I regularly visit a local auto supply, combing through batteries for signs of life. My office is littered with a hodge-podge of Ni-CD, lead-acid and lithium-based cells that are patiently awaiting repairs and a new purpose.

Here's what I've learned about keeping batteries in shape, and rehabbing old ones from the junk heap.

An oil company helping launch an electric car? The jokes write themselves. (Launch it where, into space?) But it's true: low-speed electric carmaker Electrovaya launched its Maya-300 car this week with help from ExxonMobil. The oil giant's "SuperPolymer" separator film is used in production of Electrovaya's lithium-ion battery. But wait, there's more.

Is it the car of the future? The Segway of the future? An idea destined to go nowhere? Something in between? Today GM unveiled the PUMA, a two-wheeled city vehicle built in collaboration with Segway. PUMA stands for Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility, and the idea is to create a small, highly maneuverable mini-car ideal for congested cities where the traffic is slow and the parking is nonexistent.

At a conference in Germany, engineers unveiled a robotic jellyfish designed to swim—but not sting—like the real thing.

The AquaJelly runs on rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, has a roughly spherical body and uses eight tentacles to get around in the water. The tentacles undulate like the tail of a real fish, and small fins at the ends give the machine a little extra push on the water. To steer, the robot shifts its weight, and it drives around its tank autonomously.

Stanford researchers have figured out a way to incorporate silicon nanowires into rechargeable lithium ion batteries and extend their life from 4 to 40 hours. The work, described in a paper in Nature Nanotechnology, could lead to iPods, laptops and camcorders that could be run nearly for an entire weekend without requiring a re-charge. Of course, this is still in the lab stage, and there are undoubtedly quite a few steps and hurdles between the campus and commercialization, but we're optimists. So, here's to the end of the ABC (Always Be Charging) Rule of electronics.—Gregory Mone

Via News.com

Those hard-working folks at Spark Fun Electronics have taken a good thing and made it better. By taking three of their 2000mAh 3.7V polymer lithium ion batteries and wrapping them up together, they have created a 6Ah powerhouse battery pack (#PRT-08484; $39.95). This is a parallel battery circuit. Also, rather than having to contend with those pesky solder tabs that are inherent to most LiPoly batteries, this Spark Fun power pack is terminated in a convenient JST connector. Oh, and if you dont like JST connectors, just snip the connector off and solder on your preferred connector.

LiPoly batteries are very picky about recharging. If youre looking for a suitable LiPoly battery recharger, Spark Fun has an easy-to-use fast charger (#PRT-08293; $19.95). This little black box charger requires a 5V regulated input with a barrel tip. The chargers output is accessed via a 2-pin screw terminal block. —Dave Prochnow

(Images: Spark Fun Electronics)

If youre looking for a method to beat battery weight or add some big volts in a tiny space, try experimenting with polymer lithium ion batteries. Better known as LiPoly, lipo, and LipIon, these batteries are very small and lightweight, but they can deliver 3.7V @ 100mAh.

Be forewarned, however, LiPoly batteries require some special handling. For example, only a special polymer lithium battery charger circuit can be used for charging these batteries. Also, soldering the batterys positive and negative terminal tabs to your project board can be very challenging. Do not exceed a 350F soldering iron temp and work swiftly; using a soldering time of less than 5 seconds.

You can purchase LiPoly batteries from Spark Fun Electronics. A single 100mAh batteries costs around $7.

(Image: Spark Fun Electronics)

Exploring the intricacies of Martian geology requires a steady climber, nimble enough to scale cliffs and dexterous enough to sample the strata. A climbing primate would be a good candidate, if only there were air to breathe and the temperature were warmer than -140