Mobile Fuel Cell Technology

[Chad4Mac]

Anyone really get five hours out of your PowerBook battery. How about twenty hours?

http://www.casio.com/corporate/pressroom.cfm?act=2&pr=5533

If Apple ever decides to improve it's mobile products with mind-blowing processor speed, it will have to incorporate better battery technology -- the micro-fuel cell. It's a way off, say 2004(+-), but what a treat. Imagine your PowerBook unplugged for twenty hours! Wait, if Apple (and other computer companies) continue to mislead consumers about battery life, the true life expectency might be ten to twelve hours.

Technology is so ***** cool! I only wish I could shut my eyes, pause, and re-open them into the micro-fuel cell era.

Chad4Mac

 

[Hemingray]

Re: Mobile Fuel Cell Technology

Originally posted by Chad4Mac
I only wish I could shut my eyes, pause, and re-open them into the micro-fuel cell era.

And what if it never gets integrated into laptops...?

 

[Geert]

looks nice.

But don't drop that Tibook then

those 20hours is for a cassiopeia a tibook would be like 10 hours then?
Plus if oil supply runs out, prices for such things would be tremendous.
And you'dd have to buy every 10hours a new one? I did not see anything about recharging.
(or the recharging would be done like with a lighter , you keep a methanol spray to your Tibook to reload it )

 

[Chad4Mac]

Re: Re: Mobile Fuel Cell Technology

Originally posted by Hemingray


And what if it never gets integrated into laptops...?

...i don't think it's a question of "what if," more importantly I think the question is "when".

I've heard that normal lithium-ion batteries on maxed out around 5 hours. Put high energy consumption processors in mobile's and you've got a problem. If it's not fuel cell technology powering evolving processors, what will it be?

Chad4Mac

 

[Falleron]

Why dont apple add a solar cell to the current laptops? You see them on lots of calculators! Of course the laptop wont run off the solar cell, but it could be used as a way of increasing the battery life???? Just an idea.

 

[palala]

Solar

I know I have seen solar panels that stick onto the back of the Powerbooks, but I can't seem to find them right now. This is the closest thing I could find.

http://www.igo.com/Product_Page.asp?ProductID=66769&LISR=1&LISS=1.000000&LISQ=solar

 

[Hemingray]

Re: Re: Re: Mobile Fuel Cell Technology

Originally posted by Chad4Mac
...i don't think it's a question of "what if," more importantly I think the question is "when".

I was thinking more along the lines of... you'd never wake up.

 

[Falleron]

Re: Solar

Originally posted by palala
I know I have seen solar panels that stick onto the back of the Powerbooks, but I can't seem to find them right now. This is the closest thing I could find.

http://www.igo.com/Product_Page.asp?ProductID=66769&LISR=1&LISS=1.000000&LISQ=solar

Yep, that sort of thing. However, it should actuaclly be built into the lid for example.

 

[Chad4Mac]

Originally posted by Geert
looks nice.

But don't drop that Tibook then

those 20hours is for a cassiopeia a tibook would be like 10 hours then?
Plus if oil supply runs out, prices for such things would be tremendous.
And you'dd have to buy every 10hours a new one? I did not see anything about recharging.
(or the recharging would be done like with a lighter , you keep a methanol spray to your Tibook to reload it )

As oil becomes scarce, the cost of producing batteries will increase; the production of batteries involves petrol-based products.

"Plus if oil supply runs out, prices for such things would be tremendous."

Not necessarily. The more companies use, develope, intergate with fuel cell technology, the lower the cost -- based on economies of scale and technological innovations.

For example, take CD technology back ten+ years: Big time prices. But now, since the technology has become mainstream costs decrease -- production costs dropping. The more a competitive product is consumed, the cheaper it becomes.

In the making, look at DVDs. There cost per indicidual disk is dropping...

Chad4Mac

 

[mischief]

Hang on......

If the thing runs on Methanol it has no reason to run out.......ever.

Humans are only slightly behind (pardon the pun) Cattle and Fleas as Methanol producers.......

Mind that Catheter!!!!


(" Oh, and just one more thing: You can now shove your TiBook up your A**. Well, maybe not the whole TiBook.......just the recharge Adapter.")

 

[Gelfin]

First, I'll believe it when I see it. I just can't get excited anymore over something that is anticipated to be available to consumers in more than a year or two. Incidentally, as a rule of thumb, I have come to assume that any announcement of a new technology that claims a product date more than five years away will never materialize.

Second, in the particular case of battery technology there are safety concerns that I'd want addressed. Packing a lot of energy very densely in a small container can also be described as "making a bomb," and the higher the energy density, the harder it is to prevent it from accidentally going off. I want my 20-hour battery life as much as anyone, but I'm very wary of the idea of taking something that can potentially explode, combining it with something that gets very hot (my PBG4), and putting the whole thing on my lap.

 

[Chad4Mac]

Second, in the particular case of battery technology there are safety concerns that I'd want addressed. Packing a lot of energy very densely in a small container can also be described as "making a bomb," ... lap. [/B][/QUOTE]

From what I know, fuel cells are not about densely packed energy but more about sustainable energy. And this technlogy is not so futuristic. Cell phone comanies are spending large sums of money developing cost effective micro-fuel cells for their phones with the intend of using the technology ASAP. Can you imagine a cell phone that came out with a two month battery life? Cost pending, it would sell like hotcakes.

Just looking progression: processers become faster, battery life lengthens, hard drives RPM increase, computers become lighter...

Chad4Mac