Maria Los
Science 8B
Battery Powered to Heal by Stephen Ornes April 7th 2011 - http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/2011/04/battery-powered-to-heal/
Batteries power everything from computers to toys, but batteries still have limits. After a battery has been used many times, the elements within it start to break down. Cracks that disrupt the flow of energy start to form. After a battery is broken it needs to be taken out and replaced with a new one. The concept behind these new types of batteries are that they should be able to patch up those internal cracks. Scott White, introduced this concept to the world in February, during a science convention. Having a battery that could fix itself would allow batteries that last much longer. This type of battery would be a lithium-ion type of battery. These types of batteries are often used in small electronics. There are three basic parts within this battery: A cathode at one end, with a positive electric charge. An anode at the other, which is negatively charged. Electrolyte, a type of liquid carries a charge between these two. Within this liquid there are ions (positively charged lithium atoms) The tiny cracks that form in over used batteries usually form in the anode. When they form they block the electric flow and kill the battery, to prevent this scientists added tiny plastic bubbles to the anode, that contain gallium indium (a liquid) that when the anode ends up having a crack within it, the break apart and the liquid inside the bubbles fills up the crack allowing electricity to flow. Not only will batteries that heal themselves last longer, but the can also be built on to be made safer, since lithium-ion batteries have been known to catch on fire, due to the fact that hydrogen a lithium react severely.
This article caught my eye because of the fact that our homework this week was to read about ions, and in class we were just recently talking about lithium batteries and a problem Apple computer had with them in sometime around 2009, because they were catching fire. So all around this article was very relevant to what we have been learning in class. I think this battery will be a great improvement to current batteries, not only will products last longer but there will not be as much trouble with people not recycling batteries because they will last for a much longer period of time.
Science 8B
Battery Powered to Heal by Stephen Ornes April 7th 2011 - http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/2011/04/battery-powered-to-heal/
Batteries power everything from computers to toys, but batteries still have limits. After a battery has been used many times, the elements within it start to break down. Cracks that disrupt the flow of energy start to form. After a battery is broken it needs to be taken out and replaced with a new one. The concept behind these new types of batteries are that they should be able to patch up those internal cracks. Scott White, introduced this concept to the world in February, during a science convention. Having a battery that could fix itself would allow batteries that last much longer. This type of battery would be a lithium-ion type of battery. These types of batteries are often used in small electronics. There are three basic parts within this battery: A cathode at one end, with a positive electric charge. An anode at the other, which is negatively charged. Electrolyte, a type of liquid carries a charge between these two. Within this liquid there are ions (positively charged lithium atoms) The tiny cracks that form in over used batteries usually form in the anode. When they form they block the electric flow and kill the battery, to prevent this scientists added tiny plastic bubbles to the anode, that contain gallium indium (a liquid) that when the anode ends up having a crack within it, the break apart and the liquid inside the bubbles fills up the crack allowing electricity to flow. Not only will batteries that heal themselves last longer, but the can also be built on to be made safer, since lithium-ion batteries have been known to catch on fire, due to the fact that hydrogen a lithium react severely. This article caught my eye because of the fact that our homework this week was to read about ions, and in class we were just recently talking about lithium batteries and a problem Apple computer had with them in sometime around 2009, because they were catching fire. So all around this article was very relevant to what we have been learning in class. I think this battery will be a great improvement to current batteries, not only will products last longer but there will not be as much trouble with people not recycling batteries because they will last for a much longer period of time.
Awesome article - especially since we talked about the reactive properties of alkali metals in class. Good choice!
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