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Science Technology

AAAAAAAAA-size Li-Ion Cells 124

Posted by timothy from the batteries-make-the-world-go-round dept.
Jasin Natael writes "Thought Li-Ion batteries were all the same? Think again. Several universities, under a grant from the US Office of Naval Research, are miniaturizing the anodes and cathodes of Li-Ion batteries to nanoscale, hoping to make more efficient, smaller cells that last longer."
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AAAAAAAAA-size Li-Ion Cells More

AAAAAAAAA-size Li-Ion Cells

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  • My $$'s on fuel cells. (Score:4, Insightful)

    by jericho4.0 ( 565125 ) on Sunday October 13, 2002 @05:23PM (#4442271)
    This sounds like more of an incremental improvment rather that the quantum leap that we need. And you'll still need a source of electricity to charge it. I'm still holding out for fuel cells.

    • Uh... (Score:4, Insightful)

      by autopr0n ( 534291 ) on Sunday October 13, 2002 @05:37PM (#4442326) Homepage Journal
      And you'll still need a source of electricity to charge it. I'm still holding out for fuel cells.

      Why... fuel cells still need to filled. Are you saying you have a more ready supply of methane or hydrogen gas then you do electricity?

      Power outlets exist in almost every man made structure in the industrial world. And in most cars too. I can charge my laptop/cellphone/PDA anywhere. The same can't said about the fuels used in fuel cells.

      • Re:Uh... (Score:5, Insightful)

        by Spy Hunter ( 317220 ) on Sunday October 13, 2002 @05:49PM (#4442356) Journal
        The problem is that batteries can't be recharged in 10 seconds. Tanks can be filled that fast. My battery dying wouldn't be nearly as big a problem if I could recharge it in 10 seconds. Plus, if fuel cells became popular, the fuel would quickly become available everywhere.

        • Re:Uh... (Score:3, Informative)

          by UniverseIsADoughnut ( 170909 )
          not exsactly true. While normaly you charge batteries slowly you can charge them very fast in some applcations. Take EV's and HEV's while it would take many hours to charge their battery packs through a charger they charge their batteries very quickly when doing things like regenerative braking (as in charge a huge battery pack in seconds). In a HEV's I work on we can only do so much regen do to the size of the battery pack, they can take the charge quiet fast (though there is a limit) the big problem is running out of space (as in energy storage) to quick. But any charging cycle slowly kills batteries. The severity only ajust the time line. This is where ultra capacitors will begin to come into play.

          • Re:Uh... (Score:3, Insightful)

            by tap ( 18562 )
            For a given battery chemistry, the time it takes to fully charge the battery is relatively constant. Li-ion cells for instance normally take two hours to fully charge. The maximum charge rate for li-ion cells is normally 1C, where C is the capacity of the battery in amp-hours. So if you have a small 600 mAh cell it change take a charge at a max rate of 600 mA, while a larger 1800 mAh cell could be charged at 1.8 amps, but both will take about the same time to charge. NiMH and especially nicad batteries can charged at higher rates, like 3C or more. But still, a one minutes charge time would mean a peak charge rate of more than 60C, a no battery can take that.
        • With this technology, there's a good change you could charge the batteries in a drastically shortened time. If the individual cells were connected properly, one could pass a massive amount of energy through the pack and charge all the cells quickly. Since there will be much more surface area for the cathodes and anodes, there will be much more /active/ area for the LiIon to react against, thuis speeding the process.
        • Maybe they can't be recharged in 10 seconds, but they can be replaced in less. And it isn't difficult to carry several spare sets of batteries around if they are made smaller. It is, however, difficult to carry extra fuel cells around, as they are expected to be rather large.

          • It is a hassle to have extra batteries and carry them around. They are too expensive and heavy, and keeping them charged is an annoyance. Since you can't easily tell which ones are charged and which ones aren't, it is constant guesswork. It is yet to be seen how big fuel cells will be; work is proceeding on miniaturized versions that would be quite small. Anyway, why would you carry more than one? All you would need to carry would be the fuel, since they are refillable.

            • They are talking about minimizing the batteries, so they would be much less of a hassle and annoyance to have to carry them around. And how much hydrogen do you carry around? Would it be easier to carry the hydrogen outside of the fuel than inside? After all, one of the concerns with creating a fuel cell is how to contain the hydrogen.
      • Quote:
        Power outlets exist in almost every man made structure in the industrial world. And in most cars too. I can charge my laptop/cellphone/PDA anywhere. The same can't said about the fuels used in fuel cells.

        Not yet anyway...

        Imagine picking up a fuelcell the size of a bic-lighter (might look similar too.) and tossing your old one in a bin (for recycling/refilling) and slipping the new one in.

        "Better living through chemicals." I always say.
      • All true. But assuming I own a fuel cell, I'm going to ensure I have a source of fuel for it. And I could easilly carry enough fuel for several hundred hours of operation (of a notebook, say) in a small canister.

        All in all, it probably isn't going to be any more difficult to find a supply of fuel than it is to find a 110v 60hz outlet in Nepal.

        • >> All in all, it probably isn't going to be any more difficult to find a supply of fuel than it is to find a 110v 60hz outlet in Nepal.

          Try finding one out side of north america.
        • And I could easilly carry enough fuel for several hundred hours of operation (of a notebook, say) in a small canister.

          Oh, sure, that's convenient. And safe, I'm sure. You don't want little aerosol-size cans spewing high-pressure methane all over your laptop bag, eh?

          All in all, it probably isn't going to be any more difficult to find a supply of fuel than it is to find a 110v 60hz outlet in Nepal.

          Requiring 110V 60Hz is soooo '80s. I had a Toshiba laptop (or was it merely "portable" back then?) in 1989 rated for 110-240V, 50-60Hz. Working with multiple power standards is a solved problem.

          Anyway, in Nepal (or any other location without ready AC power) you are much more likely to be using a 12V lead-acid battery via the cigarette lighter plug in your truck. But that's beside my point:

          Saying that availability of fuel cell refill tanks is not a problem because you can name at least one place where availability of grid power is a problem -- isn't exactly sound reasoning....

      • Re:Uh... (Score:1, Funny)

        by Anonymous Coward
        Are you saying you have a more ready supply of methane or hydrogen gas then you do electricity?

        Sure I do [heptune.com], but I'm not sure how I would ummm... harvest it, and maybe it's best not to discuss the matter in mixed company.

      • Re:Uh... (Score:5, Funny)

        by diggitzz ( 615742 ) <diggitz AT gmail DOT com> on Sunday October 13, 2002 @07:10PM (#4442587) Homepage
        Are you saying you have a more ready supply of methane or hydrogen gas then you do electricity?

        Actually, aside from 'technology', the enormous abundance of methane on Earth is the most easily-detectable sign that life exists here.

        And what produces more methane than bovine flatulance? Nothing.(well maybe a Mexian rodeo)

        Why do you think space aliens are always stealing/mutilating cows? It's because they think the cows are the dominant form of life here. And they might be right. =P

        So anyway, eat a bean burrito and fill up your fuel cell, it's cheaper than buying batteries. ;)
        • You brought up extraterrestrial incursions. Are you suggesting that it's really the MiB introducing this AAAAAAAAAAALiIon technology into the marketplace?
    • you can buy a fuel cell kit at
      the fuel cell store [fuelcellstore.com]
    • Well, since you're holding out for fuel cells,
      I'll be holding out for Mr. Fusion (Back to the Future 2).
      Chuck in something on the periodic table this side of iron, and you've got 1.21 Gigawatts for your cellphone to fry your brain.

      Yay sarcasm!
    • Fuel cells? Think about them in aircrafts.

      What i would like is for somebody to develop a cellular battery that really lasts long. With these new phones, all they last is 48h
    • Just wanted to squeeze in an alternative thought between the "fuel cells" & "batteries" arg[s].

      There are two solutions to this problem/dilema (well actually three, but the third one is to not use your dear laptop [or what you now use your batteries for...so I won't consider this as a valid option]).

      1] Fuel Cells or Batteries
      2] Having/making ultra-low-consumtion appliance.

      My money is on Nr2, case if we reach that marker, one could eventually get rid of the battery [or fuel cell] charging and make them run on solar-power [or something like that, that doesn't cost the user any more operation costs [no more buying gas/electricity]). I mean if; under one day earth gets bombarded by the sun with the equivalent of power that could sustain our need us for one year... why not learn how use that? if it just there, it's like an unexplored gold mine *or something*.


      [Maybe I'm of topic here; but I thought it's just a relevant thought... so be gentle moderators :)]

    • I've got a pretty hefty fuel cell already. It's enough to power my stereo, extra lights, my laptop. I could even charge my cell phone at the same time. Granted, the fuel to energy converter is the internal combustion engine, so it can be a little noisy and pollution prone.

  • So... (Score:3, Funny)

    by ymgve ( 457563 ) on Sunday October 13, 2002 @05:24PM (#4442276) Homepage
    where's the pictures?
  • One of the things that I've been waiting for is minature power cells, a la Star Trek. It was always really cool to me how equipment could be lugged around from here to there, apparently never needing recharged.

    If it helps, maybe this moves us one step closer to having laptops that can be used as true portable computers, not needing charged for days or weeks at a time.
    • Captain, we need to find more Dilithium Crystals to power the warp core reactor! We don't have above impluse power without them!

    • Sounds like you want to go nuclear. To go nuclear, you can have your uranium or Americium in the center of a vat of water (to stop the neutrons, and gather heat). But you then need to export the heat to produced electricity. Most people would use a heat engine for that, but a heat engine is hard to miniaturize.

      Here's a better way: use electrons as your heat engine gas, since electrons are both good at transporting heat and electricity, both, and have fewer accessible states than molecular gases.

      Design: set a nanoscale series of pin grid arrays on top of each other, as shown below, and then run one wire from the bottom, and one wire from a flat collector plate at the top :

      __________________________+N Volts
      _L__L__L__L__L__
      _L__L__L__L__L__
      _L__L__ L__L__L__________ -N Volts

      Heat applied to the -N Volt plate causes electrons to boil away from the heat source, to the tips of the pins, where electric field lines concentrate, and cause the electrons to jump off the pin tips to the next plate. Essentially, the important thing is the radius of the pin tip divided by the area of the flat plate in front (same thing that sticks a balloon to the wall with static electricity). So you can run a wire out through the center of your power plate, and electricity will still flow as indicated.

      So make two sets of curved plates, one in a hexagonal shape and one kind if a smaller pentagon shape, and assemble them around your spherical water vat, like a soccer ball.

      Production: I suggest using acid etching, much the same as we do for PCBs. Actually, it might be possible to do this with standard chip making technology.

      Disclaimer: Since this is now published, it is not available for patenting. If you want to do this, you will have to do it without any IP or monopolistic advantages.

    • One of the things that I've been waiting for is minature power cells, a la Star Trek. It was always really cool to me how equipment could be lugged around from here to there, apparently never needing recharged.

      The Goa'uld on Stargate use Naquadah, a material not found on Earth that seems to generate power from neutrinos in the same way that solar panels generate power from photons. Which is useful because it will work underground and at night. Unfortunately, I don't think physics yet even has the theory for a material that would interact with and be energized by neutrinos, but it's a cool idea.
    • One of the things that I've been waiting for is minature power cells, a la Star Trek. It was always really cool to me how equipment could be lugged around from here to there, apparently never needing recharged.

      Didn't you know? They just save the fully-charged configuration of the battery during the teleportation process and replace the partially-drained battery with a full one when beaming.

      I haven't tried it but I think it would work...

  • the target: (Score:2, Funny)

    by jacquesm ( 154384 )
    Naval Research Office + Miniature lithium ion batteries -> algae spying off the coast of china

  • Nano Anodes and Cathodes (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Buzz_Litebeer ( 539463 ) on Sunday October 13, 2002 @05:25PM (#4442279) Journal
    Thats pretty neat stuff, but what form will it have to take? We know the battery life in the nano, and micro world is neat, but does it help solve problems when it comes to cell phones? I know the article says it would be helpfull in cell phones, but will it merely be a smaller battery, or will the life of the battery be longer? I dont think it explained well how the actual life span of the batteries would be longer, except for one issue of how they would have less area to diffuse over. Could someone explain to me how this makes it last longer in a practicle sense, IE how would a cell phone use it?
    • Well... if an equivelent battery is smaller, then they could just use the origional size and get extra capacity, its not like cell phones need to get smaller until they are implants.
    • We're talking energy density here;
      ie, one could have a smaller battery with a higher energy density compared with today's batteries, or we could keep the size of today's batteries, and just increase the density, and therby increase the life of it. Geddit ;)
      (Sorry about the double post)
      • it didnt actually cover life density of the battery, thats what my issue was. they said about smaller, but how does its density in this case make it better. It still relies on the fluid. Are you saying that because the anode and cathode are smaller that the density of conducting fluid will be higher? Thats the issue i meant, are they as effecient in density, or is it just a matter of size.
    • well by what's said in the article it seems they just want a battery to fit the minute circuts. however if you were able to have batterys that small then mobile phones could be powered via a battery pack which would thus allow higher amps which can mean that more power is avaliable to the phone and therefore more powerful parts. this isn't really inportant in my view but people would like to have the most powerful phone avaliable so i guess it's largly a marketing pitch. but with a battery pack made up of batterys that size it should allow a much longer life span. well that's my understanding of it anyway
    • my guess is they aren't thinking of cell phones. Believe it or not some people aren't worried about their cell phones.

      These could have implication in micro-robotics or other small autonomous electronic devices

  • well darn (Score:5, Funny)

    by Em Emalb ( 452530 ) <ememalbNO@SPAMgmail.com> on Sunday October 13, 2002 @05:25PM (#4442281) Homepage Journal
    soon I won't be able to use my second favorite excuse for getting off the phone:

    my batteries about to die.

    thanks a lot...stupid progress. I yearn for the good ole days, when cell phones were the size of small dogs and hurt your arms holding the things.

    • Re:well darn (Score:1, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward
      YES you will have to find a new EXCUSE. HERE'S the one I always use:

      "OH FUCK! I HAVE TO GO NOW! MY GRANDMOTHER'S ABOUT TO DIE!"

      NOTE: You can ONLY use this line TWICE per PERSON, then they CATCH ON and you have to move to OTHER RELATIVES.

    • Re:well darn (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Cowrad ( 571322 )
      What about just saying "I don't want to talk to you anymore."?

      Works every time.
      • Dude, it was a joke. :)

        Apparently most people got it, but nifty moderator # 450,901 didn't. Ah, behold the power of the overrated moderation.

        I'm thinking the same guy that modded you insightful modded my post over-rated :)

        Next time I'll remember to use the this is a JOKE line in the post.
        • Relax, it's only karma.

          I got your joke and thought it was quite funny, hence my reply with a glib joke in the same vein.

          Mods will be mods, and jokes won't always be appreciated. Such is slashdot. You'll be a lot happier here if you don't look at moderation totals as an index of your comments' validity.

          Ever forward, my good man.

    • Re:well darn (Score:3, Funny)

      by robbyjo ( 315601 )

      soon I won't be able to use my second favorite excuse for getting off the phone

      Well, you still have the #1 excuse in your arsenal: "My dog ate my batteries!!"

  • lion cells? (Score:5, Funny)

    by pcardoso ( 132954 ) on Sunday October 13, 2002 @05:26PM (#4442287) Homepage
    oh please! change the subject!

    It scared the shit out of me when I read it as "lion cells" and the "AAAAAAAA" seems like a scream of someone being eaten alive in one of those lion cells!

    We had enough lion-fodder during the roman empire...

    • It's Time to Go Outside When... (Score:5, Funny)

      by Myriad ( 89793 ) <(myriad) (at) (thebsod.com)> on Sunday October 13, 2002 @06:06PM (#4442404) Homepage
      It scared the shit out of me when I read it as "lion cells" and the "AAAAAAAA" seems like a scream of someone being eaten alive in one of those lion cells!

      You know the scary thing? I read "lion" as being Lithium Ion right off the bat. Even the AAAAAAAAAAA as being a play on AA/AAA size batteries.

      "Lion", as in the animal, never once occurred to me until I read your message.

      Frankly, your interpretation would make more sense to the world at large. Proof positive that I need to get out more!

      • you're sarcasm impaired
      • From what I understand Energizer Lithium AAs are not rechargable.

        Does anyone make recharble Li-ion AAs?

        I know if you pull a NiMH or NiCd battery pack apart, one useally finds that the battery pack consists of standard NiMH or NiCd recharble 'C', 'A', 'AA' or 'AAA' batteries inside the buggers. So designing the appliance to use some odd shape battery pack was just a way of making extra money selling special appliance specific battery packs that are in reality normal rechargables.

        So do Li-ion battery packs, consist of standard size rechargable cells, when pulled apart?

        & why arn't Li-ion recharble AA or AAA batteries avaliable?

        • Becaue the rechargeable Lithium cells have a nominal voltage of 3.6 volts, where the AA/AAA batteries have a nominal voltage of 1.2 - 1.25 volts. Take a look here [buchmann.ca] for more details.

          I used to think this would be a great idea, too. I mean, since Li-Ion and Li-Polymer batteries have a higher gravimetric and volumetric energy density (wH/kg and wH/liter, respectively) than any other technology, they'd make great replacements for the AA/AAA batteries we go through. Unfortunately, not all AA/AAA consuming devices can use voltage in increments of 3.6 volts.
    • We had enough lion-fodder during the roman empire...
      Apparently so; There still seem to be too many Xtians around.

  • Not AAAAAAAAA (Score:5, Funny)

    by njchick ( 611256 ) on Sunday October 13, 2002 @05:29PM (#4442295) Journal
    That would be an Å-size battery.

  • Heat production? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by autopr0n ( 534291 ) on Sunday October 13, 2002 @05:34PM (#4442314) Homepage Journal
    I have a nokia 8000 series phone (i forget the exact model, it's not printed anywhere, oddly)

    It's a few years, and pretty 'primitive', but when I'm on the phone that thing get's hot. Not unbearably so, although it does almost get uncomfortable to hold up to my ear.

    If these add-ons need so much more power then current cell phone batteries, then they would need to put out a lot more heat too. After all, 1 watt of power used equals about 1 watt of heat produced (not counting things like lights, or EM radiation).

    IMO those things would be better served by smaller, cpus with more computational power per unit of actual power.

    Of course longer battery life would be helpful to :P

    • Re:Heat production? (Score:2, Informative)

      by pc486 ( 86611 )
      The model of most cell phones can be determined by removing the battery and looking inside the battery compartment. There should be a white sticker with various information like ESN, serial, Maker, Model, ect.

    • Re:Heat production? (Score:2, Interesting)

      by Mononoke ( 88668 )
      IMO those things would be better served by smaller, cpus with more computational power per unit of actual power.
      It's (typically) not the CPU creating the excess heat; It's the transmitter itself. Handheld cel phone antennae are poorly tuned and tend to reflect power back into the transmitter causing it to heat up.

      (Why not properly tune the antenna? The human body de-tunes the phone's antenna/ground plane system differently for different users.)

    • Re:Heat production? (Score:2, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward
      (conspiracy theory)
      Just imagine how much radiation thats giving off if its getting hot enough to touch. And yer holding it right next to your head. I even bet you put it in your pockets, so when it rings it's pointed right at your nads. Cell phones are the governments way of making sure all you people don't reproduce.
      (/conspiracy theory)

  • Nanosize? (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday October 13, 2002 @05:38PM (#4442327)
    Now where did I put that battery...

  • Looks like... (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday October 13, 2002 @05:43PM (#4442345)
    all the guy wanted was to submit a Slashdot story that would show up first in alphabetical order.

  • Energy Density Does Not Scale. (Score:5, Informative)

    by WittyName ( 615844 ) on Sunday October 13, 2002 @05:48PM (#4442354)
    This is a constant, dependant on the substance used in the battery. They may get 10 percent more watt hours in this battery. Peak current should be better, due to larger surface area of the anode/cathode. Lithium Polymer batteries have a higher energy density BTW.

  • So, what would AAAAAAAAA-size mean? Where does this nomenclature come from and is there any logic in it?

    I always forget which are which and end up calling them pen-size, index-size, thumb-size etc.

    • Re:Naming scheme (Score:4, Interesting)

      by GigsVT ( 208848 ) on Sunday October 13, 2002 @06:33PM (#4442469) Journal
      I used to know this, but the naming convention came around sometime in the early 50s or late 40s. There were A, B, C, D dry cells, and then those big tall 8 inch ones that were about 2 inches around, they had some name also. I believe it was set up by the government in some capacity, possibly the military. Could be wrong.

      As far as why "A" then "AA", then "AAA" this probably comes from the way that guages are measured. As guage gets larger, you get closer to 0, then you have 00, 000, 0000. It was probably the same line of thought that cause the creater of the first battery smaller than the A to name it AA. Just speculation, but it makes sense.

      This link explains what happened to the "B" cell:

      http://exn.ca/Stories/1998/06/16/51.asp

      Couldn't find much else on Google, because battery is such a common word, and "dry cell" gets you lots of biology links.
  • Why do I picture a large cat on a treadmill turning a generator in a cage on the cart I tow behind me powering my cell phone?

    • Re:hmmm (Score:3, Funny)

      by diggitzz ( 615742 )
      As long the cat's not in a sealed box with a Uranium-238 atom and a geiger-counter wired to a shotgun, your conversations can be carried on indefnitely.
  • I wonder if these will be used to power nanocameras and such.

  • There's a problem with this approach (Score:5, Interesting)

    by 50000BTU_barbecue ( 588132 ) on Sunday October 13, 2002 @06:21PM (#4442434) Journal
    You can't scale things down like this. Rules change as you get smaller. Cells, as in human cells, don't have little batteries with discrete anodes and cathodes floating around. The way cells use energy is fundamentally different from a battery. People will have to shift their point of view away from making 'big things small', and start thinking in different ways. It is possible to miniaturize vacuum tubes, for example, but to get really small circuits there had to be a (sigh.. marketroid speak, but it works well) paradigm shift. I think the same thing will happen with energy storage.

  • This will make BILLIONS!!! (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday October 13, 2002 @06:21PM (#4442435)
    These little batteries can be used in tiny little dildos that attach themselves directly to a women's clitoris. They can wear them whenever they go out, when they go to work, or during a date.

    They can even wear them during sex and they won't have to fake orgasms anymore. The man will think he's studly and the woman will be satisfied. None will be all the wiser and there will at least be peace on earth.

    Oh happy day!

  • smaller and lasts longer is in???? (Score:1, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    I can walk around feeling a bit more confident now.

  • Speaking of battery size ... (Score:4, Interesting)

    by UnknownSoldier ( 67820 ) on Sunday October 13, 2002 @07:49PM (#4442790)
    Does anyone know why sizes 'A' and 'B' aren't sold? Why the jump from AA to C ?

    Cheers

    • Re:Speaking of battery size ... (Score:5, Funny)

      by bakes ( 87194 ) on Sunday October 13, 2002 @08:15PM (#4442895) Journal
      It's for the same reason that condom sizes are never small, medium, and large; instead they are large, extra large, and 'Oh my God!'

      • Re:Speaking of battery size ... (Score:5, Insightful)

        by mythosaz ( 572040 ) on Sunday October 13, 2002 @08:32PM (#4442947)
        A batteries? In what alternative universe did you guys find A batteries? Virtually no one makes them today, or B batteries either. The letters are part of a standard for single-cell batteries devised by the American National Standards Institute, or ANSI, beginning in the 1920s. (I realize that, strictly speaking, a battery consists of two or more cells, but let's not get picky.) Today the standard sizes range from AAAA to G, and for some reason there's also J, N, and 6. AAA, AA, C, and D were the only sizes that caught on in a big way commercially, but the others haven't totally disappeared. If you pry apart one of those big 6-volt lantern batteries, you'll find four F cells inside.

        http://www.batteryholders.com/ansiref.shtml
        • If you pry apart one of those big 6-volt lantern batteries, you'll find four F cells inside.

          If you cut open a common 9-volt battery, you'll find six small compartments, which are 1.5 volt cells connected in series to produce the 9 volts. See here. [exploratorium.edu]

      • I thought they came in Large, Medium, and Caucasian.

    • Re:Speaking of battery size ... (Score:4, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday October 13, 2002 @08:18PM (#4442902)
      They used to, a hundred years ago. The B battery in a tube radio was the plate voltage, around 200V or more. This is why to this day you can still find people who will call the main supply in an amplifier the B+ or the B supply.
      Of course these batteries were large and complex, and where replaced by transformer supplies as soon as electrification of households was popular enough.

      "A" batteries were filament batteries, at 6.3V, for the tube heaters (you know those tubes that glow? You gotta heat em up to get that glow).

    • Actually, they're available, just not seen commonly. Basically, it boils down to: if you have AA and C, why would you need the rest in between?

      That design idea stuck; at least according to this Business 2.0 article [business2.com].
  • Seems like I cold be wearing strobelights really soon - I'm a happy geek ;-)

  • Inexpensive batteries would be better (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Powercntrl ( 458442 ) on Sunday October 13, 2002 @08:28PM (#4442935) Homepage
    Li-Ion batteries are a great improvement in terms of capacity over older NiCad and NiMH (Every time I see that, I think of that movie with the rats... but I digress.) technologies. In terms of price; however, I'm less than satisifed. My cell phone uses a Li-Ion battery and it seems like it's nearing the end of its useful life. You can imagine how shocked (pun intended) I was when I found out the cost of a replacement battery was equal to the cost I originally paid for the cell phone! The advances in battery technology are nice, but I'd be more than willing to accept bulkier batteries if they were a lot less costly.
    • Look for a company which can weld (yes weld) new batteries into the same battery pack. It'll cost you less than $50 for the batteries.).

      Locally there is a company here that does it for laptops. The reason to put them in the same case/holder is that some companies, Motorola for one, have IC's in with the batteries to prevent knock-off batteries from being charged on their phone chargers. (Startacs do this, only branded batteries or licensed batteries can be charged on the phone).

      I was able to buy a battery pack for my Startac fopr $13, would have cost $90 for the Motorola brand. (In this case the battery pack has the appropriate IC anyway, works perfectly fine.).
      Just make sure the batteries have the same ratings as your old ones.

  • Batteries not included... (Score:3, Funny)

    by Alsee ( 515537 ) on Sunday October 13, 2002 @09:28PM (#4443143) Homepage
    Oh great, my new boom box takes 8192 AAAAAAAAA batteries. (Sold separately)

    -

  • Taese and the nono motors and... (Score:4, Funny)

    by croftj ( 2359 ) on Sunday October 13, 2002 @09:33PM (#4443163) Homepage
    We can make nano-vibrators vibrators for cockroaches. A good envronmentaly safe way to reduce the number of cockroaches in the world!

  • The title! (Score:2, Funny)

    by dacarr ( 562277 )
    It's the sound you make when the RF from your cellphone powered by these turns your neurons into Kentucky Fried Brains.
  • great! then i'd have room for an extra hard drive *and* my cd on my laptop...
    oh - i get it
  • Phew, that's a relief!

    When I saw "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA" my first thought was: "Someone's trying a buffer overflow attack [everything2.com]..."

  • Nano-anodes? (Score:4, Funny)

    by p3d0 ( 42270 ) on Monday October 14, 2002 @08:49AM (#4445131)
    "Nano-anodes"? Have I suddenly fallen into a Mork and Mindy episode?
  • im still wondering if those who standardized battery sizes was the sibling of who standardized bra sizes..... aaa=tiny bra, tiny battery; aa=pretty damn small bra, pretty damn small battery; c=bigger bra, bigger battery; d=big enough bra for baywatch, big enough battery to power vibrator for baywatch castmembers; etc, etc, etc.; who is in cahoots with who?

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