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THIS ISSUE INSIDE
1
What I’ve Learned From Being an Empty Nester
2
The Night That Changed Football Forever
2
Will Insurance Companies Spy on You? Yes!
3
Could Ridesharing Help Prevent Drunk Driving?
3
This Month’s Strange Factoid
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The Battery Barrier
The Battery Barrier
Every year, newer and newer pieces of technology come to rely on electric motors for locomotion and power. From cars to bicycles to power tools, a lot of companies have invested in the electric battery revolution as we see it — and yet, we haven’t arrived at that future just yet. With no fuel to haul or burn, an electric car could have a thousand-mile range. Failing that, they could have a 10-minute top off — recharging the battery in the same time it takes to fill a big tank of gas. And yet, we’re not there yet. What gives? It turns out that efficiency isn’t everything it’s cracked up to be and sometimes comes at the cost of battery power. How do we fix this? A few bold companies are trying. In an era where we should only be limited by the human imagination, we find ourselves up against a familiar barrier: our technology. Battery life just isn’t “there” yet — we’re lucky to get a few hours out of an electric car running full-bore, and the same is true for bikes, scooters, skateboards, power tools, and anything else that uses a brushless motor to do work. That’s what makes NanoGraf’s work in energy cell density so exciting, with a 28% lifetime improvement over traditional batteries.
Batteries have come a long way since the advent of the Energizer Bunny. For that, we can thank Elon Musk’s company, Tesla, which has long realized that its weakest link is the batteries themselves. Tesla has consistently driven innovation in this area and has found that its research has applications in other fields besides gas-free vehicles. Recent Tesla innovations include “tabless” battery cells that supposedly increase battery capacity five-fold. If true, it would be the largest jump in battery technology in years. Musk, however, doesn’t seem too willing to share, which makes sense from a business standpoint. But from a futuristic perspective, there are few good reasons to start thinking about batteries long before you consider bringing a design to fruition; these are the real limitations on a product, and they can only be overcome in so many ways. Until we see Tesla and NanoGraf’s technology on the open market, we don’t know if it can meet the needs of tomorrow’s consumers — regardless of the hype being generated today!
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