Methanol, fuel-cell, hydrogen, and better lithium-ion Apple laptop battery are all in the offing to keep us computing longer.
Martyn Williams, IDG News Service

No matter how portable gadgets become there's a time when they all must come back to earth: recharging time.

As a result, the quest for longer battery life still occupies much development time. For proof, just look at new technologies for mobile devices. Whether they are screens, A1175 , A1185 , M9324 , M8403 , M7318 , PowerBook G3 , PowerBook G4  processors, storage or other components, they usually share the advantage of lower power consumption.

Longer Life for Lithium
Much of the development work is focused on making batteries based on current technologies, such as lithium ion, last longer, and an increasing amount of time is being spent looking into new technologies such as fuel cells ,   A1012 , M8511 ,M8244 , A1079 , A1078 , A1148 ,M6091 .

"Lithium ion has been improving at a rate of about 9 percent per year since a decade ago when Sony introduced the first" battery based on this technology, says Ric Fulop, co-founder of A123 Systems, a start-up that's developed a high-power battery. The company has attracted investments from Qualcomm and Motorola. Although it's initially focusing on high-current devices such as power tools, it sees opportunities in the electronics sector.

Fulop says lithium ion capacities have increased from around 2.2Ah (ampere hours) a few years ago to about 2.6Ah, and there's room for continued improvement.

Representatives of Japan's Matsushita Battery Industrial said earlier this year that the company is working with Intel on a lithium ion BTP-43D1  battery that will have a capacity of 2.9Ah. Scheduled to be available in April, it should keep a laptop running for about eight hours.

However, there are limits to the technology, Fulop says.

"You are reaching the limits and it's not going to get much better," he says. Making a better TravelMate 220  battery means messing with materials and that's a battle against nature. "You don't have the same capability with materials science as Moore's Law. That's why the rate of improvement has only been 9 percent per year." Companies also are working on speedier recharging so devices are up and running again faster.

Toshiba's Projects
Toshiba has developed a prototype lithium ion battery that can absorb about 80 percent of the battery's total power capacity in about one minute. That's much faster than the typical charging rate of 2 percent to 3 percent of total capacity per minute. The new BTP-58A1  battery   could make it possible to quickly bring a dead laptop back to life.

Although lithium ion remains the king in portable gadgets, one of the most talked-about new technologies is the fuel cell. These create electricity from a simple reaction, typically that of a methanol and water mixture and air. They're generating interest because they can provide a relatively large amount of power from a small amount of inexpensive fuel and are environmentally friendlier than other batteries.

Both  Satellite A75  and NEC have demonstrated direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC) for use with laptop computers. A prototype unveiled by Toshiba at this year's Cebit show in Germany could power a small laptop for ten hours before it required a recharge in the form of a squirt of methanol, similar to the way a cigarette lighter is refueled. The Toshiba DMFC can provide about 20 watts of power, as can a similar prototype from NEC.

Lenovo and Sanyo also are working on a DMFC-based prototype, but plan to combine the fuel cell with a conventional lithium ion BTP-63D1 battery . The fuel cell keeps the battery charged when the computer isn't working under load, and the battery releases this power when the system demands more than the 12 watts the DMFC can provide. Such a hybrid power source offers the best initial solution for DMFCs until technology improves, Sanyo says.

DMFCs also win over lithium ion in other areas, says Jim Balcom, president and CEO of PolyFuel. The company supplies DMFC membranes to many of the major companies in the field. "Lithium ion batteries don't do very well from a durability aspect," he says. "Most tend to decline to the point where, after a year or two BATCL50L , TravelMate 290 , the energy capacity drops to about 80% of the original level and then falls quite steeply." PolyFuel has tested DMFCs based on its membranes that last 5,000 hours and is working on membranes that last longer.

Choosing Hydrogen
Not all fuel cell research is focused on DMFCs. Some companies are looking at fuel cells that use hydrogen instead of methanol, because they can deliver more power relative to size. This can be measured as the energy density.

Nippon Telegraph and Telephone's (NTT) prototype hydrogen fuel cell has an energy density of 200 milliwatts per square centimeter: That means about nine hours of talk time for a 3G phone from the device, which is about the size of a pack of playing cards.

In contrast, the DMFCs demonstrated with laptop PCs have an energy density of about 70 milliwatts per square centimeter, and lithium ion batteries used in modern cell phones are about 160 milliwatts per square centimeter, according to NTT.

The high energy density also has pushed Canon into hydrogen fuel-cell development for digital still cameras TravelMate 4000 , TravelMate 2300  . It has a prototype that matches the power of lithium ion batteries; the company's research goal is a fuel cell that offers between three and five times this amount of power.

Despite all this work and many demonstrations of working prototypes, fuel cells are not mere months away from commercialization.

"One of the biggest challenges is lack of standardization," says Sara Bradford, research manager for Frost & Sullivan's power supplies and batteries group in Dallas. Major vendors are using different types and amounts of fuel to power Aspire 1680 Series  of different sizes.

"This all just adds to the confusion for the average consumer," she says.

Other Efforts
Talks have begun on issues such as common refills, but agreement is yet to be reached. There also are regulatory hold-ups. Methanol is a highly flammable liquid, and carrying it on aircraft is highly regulated. As current regulations stand, it's impossible for passengers to carry on DMFCs--let alone use them in aircraft cabins. Aspire 1410 Hydrogen also has its problems, because the fuel has to be stored in compressed canisters, which require clearance for air travel, so commercialization is on hold. The International Air Transport Association is working on regulations that would allow DMFCs to be carried or used on planes, but they aren't expected to be complete until at least 2007.

Commercialization for military or industrial use will come before consumer use, with the military leading the pack, Bradford says. "They have the means to do it. Obviously, they have a lot of money to invest, but it also really revolves around the demand."

PolyFuel's Balcom agrees. He expects to see military and industrial fuel cells on the market in 2006 and 2007, with the first consumer products on sale a year later. Start-up Medis Technologies says it has a fuel cell that doesn't face the same regulatory or standardization problems. The company has developed a disposable alkaline-based fuel cell that it says is efficient, safe and inexpensive. It hopes to commercialize the cell, which will cost around $8 in bulk, in early 2006.

The device won't replace the existing rechargeable LCBTP03003 battery in portable devices, but is intended to be used as a portable recharging station for times when the battery dies and a power socket isn't nearby. The Medis unit can charge an average cell phone about six to eight times, or provide power for 20 to 30 hours of talk time before its fuel is spent. It can't be replenished.

Built-in Limits
But no matter what happens with Aspire 1300  battery technology, perhaps the life of a laptop will never move much beyond eight hours. "The notebook guys don't want to give you more than eight hours," A123 Systems' Fulop says.

Battery lifetime is usually decided ahead of time, because PC makers fix the power consumption and  PowerBook G4 15inch battery  life of their machines before they shop for a battery. Changes come only in the amount of power consumed per hour as better and more-energy-hungry components are fitted into the machines.

Question: How Does Wi-Fi Use Affect laptop battery Life?

The Wi-Fi network protocol requires power (electricity) to operate the radios used to send and receive data. How exactly does your usage of Wi-Fi affect a computer's power consumption, specifically the life of battery-operated devices?

Answer: The power required by a Wi-Fi radio is measured in decibel millwatts (dBm). Wi-Fi radios with higher dBM ratings tend to have greater reach (signal range) but will generally utilize more power than those with lower dBM ratings.

Wi-Fi consumes power whenever the radio is on. With older Wi-Fi network adapters,  hp pavilion zd7000 battery , hp pp2182d battery , hp 338794-001 battery the amount of power used is generally independent of the volume of network traffic sent or received, as these systems keep the Wi-Fi radio powered at all times even during times of network activity.

Newer Wi-Fi systems that implement the WMM Power Save power saving intelligence may according to the Wi-Fi Alliance save between 15% and 40% over other Wi-Fi systems.

On Linux, the LessWatts.org initiative has also created its own Wi-Fi Power Save Poll protocol that intelligently powers off the network adapter for short periods of time to save energy hp pavilion zt3000 battery , hp 337607-001 battery , hp 337607-003 battery.

A relatively new technology, using solar energy to power Wi-Fi routers is also an area of active research and product development.

Overall, the battery life (the length of uninterrupted operating time possible with one full battery charge) of Wi-Fi devices varies depending on several factors including:

the type of battery installed
the dBm rating of the Wi-Fi radio (network adapter)
how often the Wi-Fi radio is turned off versus on  hp pavilion dv1000 battery , hp pf723a battery , hp 367759-001 battery 
Wi-Fi power savings modes available on the device
the power needs of the display (screen), processor and other elements of the hardware separate from Wi-Fi
To determine the exact power consumption of your Wi-Fi device, you should empirically measure it under real world usage models. You should notice a significant difference in hp pavilion dv2000 battery , hp hstnn-lb31 battery  life depending on whether you use Wi-Fi.

As a side effect of the chemical reaction taking place inside, batteries heat up during operation, which causes the electrolytes to bend and warp. Recharging a hp f4098a battery  reverses the chemical reaction, but it doesn't straighten out the plates. When a battery is used over and over, the continued warping starts to affect the chemical reaction, reducing the maximum charge the hp f4809a battery can hold.

Lithium ion  hp f4812a battery  can typically survive up to 500 full discharges before losing enough of their maximum capacity to require replacement, but this depends on dozens of variables, including the battery's normal storage temperature. For example, leaving compaq 319411-001 battery , compaq presario 2100 battery , compaq presario 2500 battery  in a hot car for an extended period could render them useless within about three months.

When the car is started the first time it can be jumped off. But once it warms up it is like the starter is pulling to many amps and won't start at all. It just slowly turns over. When the car is running is runs great. dell inspiron 2500 battery , dell latitude cpx battery , dell latitude c600 battery  At least it runs like a car that has been sitting for a while. There is also a voltage drop from the alternator to the battery of .1 volts.

I don't have a VAT so I can't test the starter draw. I am moving away again in three weeks and have to have this car up for sale. Let me know what your ideas are.

Thanks,
Tony

Answer:The voltage readings seem to be okay, but I would have the charging system tested at a shop that has a VAT tester to see how many amps the alternator is putting out.  dell inspiron 710m battery , dell f5136 battery , dell 312-0306 battery   An alternator can put out volts, but not enough amps.

Also see how many amps the starter is drawing. A slow starter when hot could also indicate a timing problem as well.

Keep in mind jumping a car and letting it run for 15 or 20 minutes will not charge the  dell 8n544 battery  completely. The only way to do that is to put thedell latitude d820 battery  on a slow charger until the dell inspiron 9300 battery  cell readings are above 2.50 on a battery hydrometer.

Question: Should I Remove the Laptop Battery For A Desktop Replacement Laptop?

I have a laptop at home which I use as a desktop replacement. As such, 99% of the time the laptop is being used it is plugged in. I wonder if I should remove the DELL laptop battery  so that it is not permanently being charged, or does the laptop cut off the current to the  Dell INSPIRON 2650 battery once it is fully charged? I do unplug the laptop when I turn it off.

Answer:

When using a laptop as a desktop replacement the  Dell 1G222 battery  should not be left in for long periods of time. The laptop will over time discharge the battery. Remove the  Dell BAT3151L8 battery – making sure that it is charged to 40% and store it in a dry, warm place. Ensure that it is wrapped protectively and nothing will be dropped on it.

The Dell Latitude X300 battery should be re-installed every 3-4 weeks and allowed to fully discharge. Leaving a battery in storage for longer than this without using could cause the battery to fully discharge as the circuitry of the battery itself consumes power.

Leaving a  Dell Inspiron 2000 battery   in a laptop while using an electrical outlet for long periods of time will keep the Dell Inspiron 5100 battery  in a constant state of charging up and that will reduce the life cycle of the Dell Inspiron 1100 battery .

Remember that when you have removed  the battery  from a laptop while using with an electrical outlet – the automatic  Dell 6Y270 battery   backup is no longer functional. Make sure to plug your laptop into an uninterrupted power source (UPS) not directly into an outlet or surge protector.

Question: Why Do Batteries Discharge More Quickly in Cold Weather?

Answer: The electric current generated by a Dell 8N544 battery  is produced when a connection is made between its positive and negative terminals. When the terminals are connected, a chemical reaction is initiated that generates electrons to supply the current of the Dell Inspiron 1100 battery , Dell Inspiron 5100 battery. Lowering the temperature causes chemical reactions to proceed more slowly, so if a battery is used at a low temperature then less current is produced than at a higher temperature. As the batteries run down they quickly reach the point where they cannot deliver enough current to keep up with the demand. If the Dell Latitude D620 battery is warmed up again it will operate normally.

One solution to this problem is to make certain  Dell Inspiron 6400 battery  are warm just prior to use. Preheating batteries is not unusual for certain situations. If the battery is already warm and insulated, it may make sense to use the battery's own power to operate a heating coil. It is reasonable to have batteries warm for use, but the discharge curve for most DELL laptop battery is more dependent on battery design and chemistry than on temperature. This means that if the current drawn by the equipment is low in relation to the power rating of the cell, then the effect of temperature may be negligible.

On the other hand, when aDell Inspiron E1505 battery is not in use, it will slowly lose its charge as a result of leakage between the terminals. This chemical reaction is also temperature dependent, so unused batteries will lose their charge more slowly at cooler temperatures than at warmer temperatures. For example, certain rechargeable Dell INSPIRON 2600 battery may go flat in approximately two weeks at normal room temperature, but may last more than twice as long if refrigerated.