Production Fuel Cells in 2nd Half of 2006?

[photomaniac]

3.7 pounds?!...

Did Microsoft design it or something?

LOL...

IMHO I feel that it's a waste of energy (no pun intended) to demo a fuel cell that weighs 3.7 lbs just to show that it is possible... bring it to the demo market when it's actually practical!! ...it's also possible to power my laptop with my 10 lb Honda generator too.

 

[emaja]

Yet another insensitive person who still thinks nuclear weapons are just big bombs:

www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-02/jaaj-abs022306.php

Yet another person with their humor/sarcasm filter set too high.

I think you sell us short if you think that no one here knows about the other - and more long term damaging - effect of a nuclear weapon.

 

[revjay]

All Together, Let's Twinkle Our Noses And Make The Product Perfect!

LOL...

IMHO I feel that it's a waste of energy (no pun intended) to demo a fuel cell that weighs 3.7 lbs just to show that it is possible... bring it to the demo market when it's actually practical!! ...it's also possible to power my laptop with my 10 lb Honda generator too.

...that's why I refused to buy a computer until the G5 imac's came out ...they were just too big before...

"nothing without effort, and blood, and sweat is of much value"

Let's all sell off our autos because they are not fuel efficient and George Jetson enough...and lets walk everywhere...

...who is going to inovate? ...if no one is buying their product...there will be precious little $$ for inovation and evolution...

 

[~Shard~]

Let's all sell off our autos because they are not fuel efficient and George Jetson enough...and lets walk everywhere...

Hmm, less pollution, a slower pace of lifestyle, and more people exercising and becoming healthier as a result. Yep, I like this idea, sign me up!

 

[iEdd]

A good way for fuel cells to work is just 2 parts hydrogen, one part oxygen. Enegy is given off as they combine into water. This will be given in the form of electrical energy. The good thing about that is that it works in reverse too, meaning you can split the water back up using a normal laptop charger.

If the methanol based fuel goes along, it may be as simple as buying metholated spirits from a hardware store (Although it's 95% ethanol, 5% methanol).

 

[dongmin]

Can any one of you science types tell me how this fuel cell would compare to let's say 6 D batteries?

 

[xPismo]

can't we just pee into it?

Only if you get drunk the night before. Honestly, I think this is the wave of the future and can't wait to see a productised version ready to go. Batteries are so 1890.

 

[thopter]

This is a solution in need of a problem. Battery technology is finally ready to catch up with our insatiable demand for long lasting portable power. For starters there's the new A123Systems Lithium-ion cells for sale NOW with Black & Decker power tools.

http://www.cleanedge.com/story.php?nID=3960

And in the near future carbon nanotubes will help to build what till now has been only a pipe dream; the ultracapacitor.

http://pesn.com/2006/02/09/9600232_MIT_Battery/

 

[yadmonkey]

i dunno how i feel about anything methanol near me when i'm on a flight altitude of 39,000 ft lol

Yes - my very first thought on reading the article was there's no way the FAA or Homeland Security would let that on a commercial flight!

 

[ncbill]

No kidding.

Even for bigger applications, the newest lithium-ion batteries will have a significant impact.

Like doubling the range of electric-only (not hybrid) vehicles, for example - 200 mile range for vehicles (in the latest Wired magazine)

Add in a plug-in (inductive, of course) charger, and even hybrids could operate mostly on electric power (especially in a commuter role)

This is a solution in need of a problem. Battery technology is finally ready to catch up with our insatiable demand for long lasting portable power. For starters there's the new A123Systems Lithium-ion cells for sale NOW with Black & Decker power tools.

 

[willwoodgate]

Batteries are bad

No battery will last forever. Eventually comes the day when you can’t use your portable computer in a portable environment.

I think Apple has a chance to pioneer micro-solar panels to power its products and then develop a range of cheap environmentally friendly batteries to retain power until you stand under a light again or in the daylight. That way you can screw all the talk about battery time and switch off the energy saving functions on hardware.

 

[Macnoviz]

can't we just pee into it?

or we could attach a wind-up crank
(actually not such a bad idea, although hideous and probably not powerful enough)

 

[Macnoviz]

A good way for fuel cells to work is just 2 parts hydrogen, one part oxygen. Enegy is given off as they combine into water. This will be given in the form of electrical energy. The good thing about that is that it works in reverse too, meaning you can split the water back up using a normal laptop charger.

If the methanol based fuel goes along, it may be as simple as buying metholated spirits from a hardware store (Although it's 95% ethanol, 5% methanol).

Does this mean your computer will leak when you use it?

 

[jct101]

Nice as a spare

So it looks like, with the current technology; these are just like those cell phone batteries that you keep in the sealed plastic until you want to use it one time. Open the packaging and expose it to air for your one shot deal. The point I see in these right now is emergency power. It's the thing you keep in your glove compartment or bring in your backpack just-in-case. Not something you plan on using. Got that REALLY important meeting...bring it along. Then you can probably recycle/get-burned it back for another one in exchange for some greenbacks.

 

[Macnoviz]

So it looks like, with the current technology; these are just like those cell phone batteries that you keep in the sealed plastic until you want to use it one time. Open the packaging and expose it to air for your one shot deal. The point I see in these right now is emergency power. It's the thing you keep in your glove compartment or bring in your backpack just-in-case. Not something you plan on using. Got that REALLY important meeting...bring it along. Then you can probably recycle/get-burned it back for another one in exchange for some greenbacks.

Why include a fuel slot in your laptop, when you only use it about once in a year as a backup, when you can just pack an extra battery to have the same effect (maybe 2)

 

[ModestPenguin]

Potential

Obviously there is an enormous amout of potential for these fuel cells...hehehe...fuel cells it sounds so Sci-Fi...but right now they are almost ridiculous. Give them two years and we will laugh at the battery powered video iPods and Macbook Pros

 

[avus]

I think you sell us short if you think that no one here knows about the other - and more long term damaging - effect of a nuclear weapon.

I sincerely hope you are correct.

 

[elysdir]

Two different products

The page with the photo also contains an article, which says that there are two different products.

One is a fuel-cell "battery" you can slide into a notebook computer. Antig hasn't given stats for that, including amount of power or weight or running time.

The *other* product is "a 45W producing methanol fuelled portable power system." That's the one that runs for eight hours and weighs 3.7 pounds. It's a power unit that you plug into the power socket on your laptop.

I don't know whether there are really two products or just one, but thought it was worth mentioning.

Also, here's the Antig page about the Media Bay DMFC Prototype (the "battery" unit).

 

[uncle]

or we could attach a wind-up crank
(actually not such a bad idea, although hideous and probably not powerful enough)

You know what I like the Idea. It's simple, total independence, no emissions & no possible mishaps at 39000 feet.

It could be sold with a treadmill. Dock your laptop or better a separate cassette do a 20 min run and have 8 hours of stored kinetic energy. Have a portable handel so you can top it up when really necessary. otherwise first thing am or pm for a days use. hummm.....

where dat pic come from spoof or what

 

[Macnoviz]

You know what I like the Idea. It's simple, total independence, no emissions & no possible mishaps at 39000 feet.

It could be sold with a treadmill. Dock your laptop or better a separate cassette do a 20 min run and have 8 hours of stored kinetic energy. Have a portable handel so you can top it up when really necessary. otherwise first thing am or pm for a days use. hummm.....

where dat pic come from spoof or what

No way, that's a real laptop, I'm actually surprised you hadn't seen it
It's the 100-dollar laptop developed at MIT and it's part of a UN project to give every child in the third world a laptop.
It's linux-based open source software, and has some handy features like the crank for power, an LCD screen that's clear even in straight sunlight, and 1GB of flash memory. It's comparable to a laptop of a few years ago, and has WiFi

EDIT: I just did some searches, and the power consumption of a macbook Pro is about 25W-47W, a powerbook around 30W
This laptop consumes 3W, so let's say 1/10 of a normal laptop
The crank provides 10 minutes of juice for 1 minute of cranking, although it's doesn't seam very heavy, and is aimed at children.
So, if you would use that power supply you would have to crank constantly. Suppose you build in a heavier restance, like 3-5 times heavier, you might have an emergency solution if you run out of batteries. Although you could construct a kinetic system that uses your legs...

 

[yadmonkey]

Macnoviz, thanks for providing that background story. It makes me smile!!

 

[uncle]

Had a little look and they have new designs that may or may not be the final production models; One light blue, one yellow, but sans the crank?? seems this may or may not be the final solution. I did read that they had found a way to improve battery life by making text reading activity reduce power consumption.

Impressive project

that I didn't know about it....