So what's the next tech for batteries?

[tekrunner]

OK so lipos were a huge leap in capability over Nimh but what's going to be after lipos? Can we expect anything with double the capacity of lipos within the next couple years?

[Gary Mortimer]

We can certainly expect these chaps

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7938001.stm

[smh20502]

I didn't realize this was considered new....Oh, yea. we have to wait till everyone makes there money on older technology.

Just wait till the technology that is sensitive in nature is open to the public.



Sure would be nice if we could use nuclear batteries. Very old technology...

[tekrunner]

Well with hobbycity selling lipos for eight dollars and the economy going down maybe someone will break with the pack and sell something new.

[flyingwing12]

i think lipos are it. They may make them lighter, smaller etc. but there is nothing wrong with them.

hobbycity sells them for nothing, i got a 5 cell 3000 for 42 bucks!!!!!> AMAZING!!!

but i think lipos will be around alot longer

well. i did have an idea for an rc plane with solar panels on the surfaces

very expensive i would think???

[flyingwing12]

We can certainly expect these chaps

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7938001.stm

if Anything RC, they will probably plant this in the little cheapies you can buy for 30 dollars. There still heavy, no matter what you do :P

[danstah]

Lithium Sulfur is the next big thing in my opinion

[flyingwing12]

Lithium Sulfur is the next big thing in my opinion
i just made some sulfuric oxide in my pants :S

[dmgoedde]

i just made some sulfuric oxide in my pants :SYou probably mean H2S (hydrogen sulfide).

Has anyone seen the new "Gen 3" LiPos from Hyperion? I picked up 2 packs at the hobby store last week. 5C charge rate OK and they state 4X cycle life. I can attest that at 5C charge (about 12 minutes) my Thunder Power 1010 charger is able to properly detect endpoint. Not too expensive either: about $36 for 3cell 1650 mAh. I know I know, Hobby City LiPos are cheaper, but $36 is not all that high.

I thought rechargable aluminum batteries were coming. I was also hoping methanol fuel cells would come along to market in a size we could use, and put out a few hundred Watts. Just burning methanol in an IC engine is very inefficient. I suspect a fuel cell + using the power to turn a good Axi Gold outrunner could give an overall efficiency >> 50%. Yes I am pulling numbers out ofo the air.

[Tuner]

The best I have seen is like the first link. AKA same battery faster charge.
Ill take that any day especially for solar power applications.

Yah whats up with the other Lithium technologies such as Li Sulfur...

Scott

[Peter Seddon]

This is quite interesting http://www.meridian-int-res.com/Projects/Lithium.htm albeit a couple of years old. They also predict:
"The alternative battery technologies of ZnAir and NaNiCl are not resource constrained and offer potentially higher performance than current automotive LiIon technology. Research and industrialisation of Electrified Vehicles should also prioritise these alternative battery technologies."

Peter

[dmgoedde]

"The alternative battery technologies of ZnAir and NaNiCl are not resource constrainedAs a chemist, I can add my 2 cents worth that lithium is a rare element. That's what I believe they mean when they state the listed alternatives are "not resource contrained". I kind of wonder what will happen to our LiPo prices should lithium cells find really widespread usage in hybrid electric cars. Being resource constrained, I think the prices could go UP, rather than DOWN like can normally happen when another technolgy drives an increasing demand. Just because automotive manufacturers start buying gazillions of Li batteries doesn't mean the cost will come down if only so much lithium can be mined or recycled each year.

Interesting read in section labelled "Production and world supply" on Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium

[Jack Crossfire]

The future is probably micro turbines burning hydrocarbons. You can't beat millions of years of biological evolution. Hydrocarbons are the ultimate source of power.

They'll be silent, maintenance free, & the same size as batteries. They'll have some holes for air, exhaust, & fuel.

[dmgoedde]

The future is probably micro turbines burning hydrocarbons. You can't beat millions of years of biological evolution. Hydrocarbons are the ultimate source of power.

They'll be silent, maintenance free, & the same size as batteries. They'll have some holes for air, exhaust, & fuel.I read all about that a few years back... a certain researcher at MIT was it? It sounded like they had one turbine with integrated electrostatic generator for power, and another turbine design to actually generate thrust (a few hundred milliNewtons). That professor left his post for a job working on this in industry... maybe his own startup? I also thought the really small turbines burned hydrogen (extremely short residence times in the combustion chamber, spinning at a few million rpms!) Did they actually run any prototypes on hydrocarbons?

[Jack Crossfire]

MIT just advertises vapor to win endowments & produces nothing. Micro turbines feel more natural because most biological systems use hydrocarbons & they're neater than 2 stroke engines. It has nothing to do with who's getting paid. A lot more people get paid to sell junk mortgages than build airplanes, so are airplane builders crazy?

[Airboatflyingshp]

Carbohydrates or hyrocarbons?
If you grow photosynthetic alge in water collums fed with nutrients from Bio sewage and then convert it to fuel by fermentation and distilation to produce Ethenol or Methanol CH or go for conversion to HCs then you might be getting near, you can also use the methane HC generated by the raw sewage to power your pumps and the proccess. Thats fairly efficient in energy terms and recycles some of that CO2 in the atmosphere rather than adding from the fossil store.

Either way you still end up with CO2 and water if your lucky.... Usually we are not so lucky and we end up with less efficient burns IC engines work most effieciently in a narrow range of speed.
Micro generators powering an electrical system might be more efficient and offer a wt saving... everything has not just a finacial cost but a total energy cost.

The solution however is determined by the priority of your needs at the time and the threat of the longer term changes.

[Airboatflyingshp]

oops got mixed up double post - delete

[Airboatflyingshp]

http://www.physorg.com/news9823.html or fewer parts http://www.me.berkeley.edu/mrcl/micro.html

http://www.rcuniverse.com/magazine/article_display.cfm?article_id=166

http://thefutureofthings.com/articles/49/engine-on-a-chip.html


If you can produce hydrogen and handle it efficiently it is a clean fuel ...but at the moment the energy costs is prohibitive. Short term planning and investment in developing ideas and testing....... modelers and back yard inventors sometimes hit on the right ideas at the right time, trouble is the inertia in the system is horrendous. :rolleyes:

[spitfiremk9]

chip.html


If you can produce hydrogen and handle it efficiently it is a clean fuel ...but at the moment the energy costs is prohibitive. Short term planning and investment in developing ideas and testing....... modelers and back yard inventors sometimes hit on the right ideas at the right time, trouble is the inertia in the system is horrendous. :rolleyes:

Clive
Interesting

[Gary Mortimer]

;-)