Nanotechnology Brings Us the Super Battery

When you think about it, the bad thing about batteries isn't really that they don't last all day, it's that they take just as long to charge as they did to drain. So even if you do find a power outlet, you're stuck to it for hours and hours rather than being able to make a quick pit stop for juice. Imagine if you had to spend three hours at the gas station every time you needed to refuel your car.

Well, it seems that help is on the way. The smart kids at M.I.T. have developed a new type of capacitor, which has properties similar to a battery, but which has never really been used as a long-term power source because even large ones hold only about four percent of the charge that a battery of the same size can hold.

Using nanotechnology, the researchers have managed to dramatically increase the capacity of a capacitor. It can theoretically be recharged many more times than a battery can (which quickly wears out) and, the best part, can reach its full charge in a matter of seconds.

Too bad this is but a research project at this point. Fortunately the idea of high-capacity capacitors is so promising that other researchers are also on the case. Commercial products could arrive by the end of the decade. Here's hoping for 'em!