Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
EEStor Ultracapacitor 'Battery' And Heinlein's Shipstone
EEStor, a start-up based in Austin, is hoping to begin shipment of a radical new battery replacement - an ultracapacitor or supercapacitor - that could actually power a small car for a reasonable distance.
Energy storage is the problem that has bedeviled the electric car industry; batteries take hours to charge and people don't want to wait more than a few minutes at a station.
Ultracapacitors (also called supercapacitors) solve this problem by combining the best of batteries (storage of a large charge) with capacitors (quick recharge and discharge).
Supercapacitors have been around for a while; the first recognized device was developed in 1957 by General Electric. Interestingly, the Standard Oil Company patented a similar device in 1966.
Does EEStor's device really work? ZENN Motor, a firm based in Toronto, Canada, thinks so and has backed up their belief with 3.8 million dollars in venture capital.
This device may remind readers of the Shipstone, a manufactured "battery" that was shipped from the factory with enormous charges built in.
Shipstones also came in very small, "lifetime power" versions for home tools and appliances.
Interested in science-fictional vehicles? Try these real-life counterparts:
Via Sydney Morning Herald. Thanks to an anonymous reader who contributed the tip.
EEStor's secret ingredient is a material sandwiched between thousands of wafer-thin metal sheets, like a series of foil-and-paper gum wrappers stacked on top of each other. Charged particles stick to the metal sheets and move quickly across EEStor's proprietary material.
The Shipstone complex is mammoth, all right, because they supply cheap power to billions of people who want cheap power and want more of it every year. But it is not a monopoly because they don't own any power; they just package it and ship it around to wherever people want it...
(Read more about Heinlein's Shipstone)
One fuel of particular interest is vegetable oil - just like you buy it in the store.
A remarkable car designed for urban use that costs about one-tenth as much to operate as a car that runs on gas.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 9/7/2007)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 2 )
Related News Stories - (" Engineering ")
Hybrid Wind Solar Devices
'...the combined Wind-Suncatcher, like a spray of tulips mounted fanwise.' - Simpson Stokes, 1937.
BeamBike Solar Power Canopy For Electric Bikes
'The slender stalks of a sunshade-photocell collector...' - David Brin, 1990.
REALLY Remote Control Excavators
'It takes over a second for the signal to get to the Moon...' - Pournelle and Niven, 1981
Your Solar Electric Paint Is Ready, Larry Niven
'...you spray it on.' - Larry Niven, 1995
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Mechazilla Arms Catch A Falling Starship, But Check Out SF Landing-ARMS
'...the rocket’s landing-arms automatically unfolded.'
A System To Defeat AI Face Recognition
'...points and patches of light... sliding all over their faces in a programmed manner that had been designed to foil facial recognition systems.'
Robot Hand Separate From Robot
'The crawling, exploring object was V-Stephen's surgeon-hand...'
Hybrid Wind Solar Devices
'...the combined Wind-Suncatcher, like a spray of tulips mounted fanwise.'
Is Optimus Autonomous Or Teleoperated?
'I went to the control room where the three other men were manipulating their mechanical men.'
Robot Masseuse Rubs People The Right Way
'The automatic massager began to fumble gently...'
Solar-Powered Space Trains On The Moon
'The low-slung monorail car, straddling its single track, bored through the shadows on a slowly rising course.'
Drone Deliveries Instead Of Waiters In Restaurants?
'It was a smooth ovoid floating a few inches from the floor...'
Optimus Robot Can Charge Itself
'... he thrust in his charging arm to replenish his store of energy.'
Skip Movewear Arc'teryx AI Pants
'...the terrible Jovian gravity that made each movement an effort.'
'Robovan' Name Already Taken - Elon, Try These
There are alternative names that are probably in the public domain by now.
How Old Are Tesla Designs?
You be the judge.
Is Your Autonomous Tractor Safe?
'The field-minder finished turning the top-soil of a two-thousand-acre field.'
Smart TVs Are Listening!
'You had to live -- did live, from habit that became instinct -- in the assumption that every sound you made was overheard...'
Police Drones In China Would Like To Have A Word With You
''OVERRIDE,' the City Fathers said suddenly, without being asked anything at all.'
Oh Great (Part 2), Fence-Climbing Robots
Please, no stingers.
