Many believe that the capacity of lithium batteries have been exhausted. In addition, they differ in a number of disadvantages, in particular can misfire in operation. Scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of technology (MIT) have found a safer and non-toxic method of obtaining energy. They have developed a technology for converting chemical energy into electrical energy without the use of toxic and flammable chemical components lithium-ion batteries by using carbon nanotubes. However, to expect that the iPhone will soon be working for Sahara, is not necessary.
In 2010 a group of scientists at MIT under the direction of Professor of chemical engineering Michael Strano discovered that carbon nanotubes may experience a powerful wave of energy that create electricity. Scientists have coated the wall of the electrically and thermally conductive nanotubes with a layer of jet fuel and set fire to the fuel at one end of the nanotube by a laser beam. Carbon nanotube began to quickly move heat wave, and when she was heated up to 3000K, the speed of its movement was 10,000 times faster than the speed of a chemical reaction. The thermal energy generated by combustion, have affected and electrons, the authors of the experiment, creating an electric current.
The opening described a new, previously unknown phenomenon, but experiments in 2010 were conducted on a small laboratory scale. Now scientists have significantly increased the efficiency of the process and developed a device that can achieve the same performance as today’s batteries. An important advantage of the new method is that the new batteries are not flammable or toxic substances — energy is generated due to carbon nanotubes and ordinary sugar. The power supply system, based on the effect of heat and temperature arising during the combustion of sugar, enough to produce electrical current, said Rareearth.
The main problem of this technology is low efficiency. The efficiency of conversion of heat to electricity is only 1%. On the one hand it is negligible. But on the other hand, the researchers were able to increase the efficiency rate of converting about 10,000 times since my first experience with this material.
Experts note that now the device, developed at MIT, is powerful enough to feed from it led bulb or a simple electronic device. In the future, these heat sources can be used to power mobile devices. It is also important that the technology is suitable for creating miniature batteries, micro-and nanoelectronic devices.
