Another interesting feature of our direct laser-writing technique is the ability to link any number of microsupercapacitors together to produce modules with both high voltage and high current output. You could knit them right into the fabric of an adhesive bandage so that it could put out a bit of electrical current to stimulate the slow, steady release of a drug. With new warning symbols and reminder symbols coming out every year, it can be a little difficult to keep up. You probably were a little jealous of which of these hybrid’s gas mileage out on the highway? Traditional supercapacitors consist of pairs of electrodes stacked vertically, like the stories of a high-rise building, but most integrated systems are laid out flat and thus can accommodate only single-story structures. And as Moore’s Law begins to apply in full force, supercapacitors will begin to shrink right out of sight. Think about it like this: If it takes one gallon of gasoline to convert water into HHO, your energy output will equal one-half gallon of gasoline.
So the question becomes: If you power a vehicle with electricity from the grid rather than with fuel from the tank, is that better or worse for the environment, particularly with respect to greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide? Fuel cells can be used in cars, and to provide electricity to rural areas with no power lines. That beats yoking many cells together with clumsy wiring. In addition, integrated supercapacitors can simplify the external wiring used in conventional energy harvesting and storage systems. As a result, the new interdigitated supercapacitors demonstrate greater charge storage capacity than their stacked counterparts. Our microsupercapacitors employ an all-solid-state electrolyte, which we apply directly onto the interdigitated pattern. To complete the cell, we top off the pattern with a droplet of gel electrolyte to provide a bit of battery-like storage-the same technique that’s used in conventional supercapacitors. We can use gelled polymer electrolytes, made by swelling a polymer matrix with an electrolyte solution, or we can solidify ionic liquids by adding polymers or silica nanopowder. They are fun to use and knowledge of this device is essential in modern electronics.
By contrast, today’s computer motherboards require complex interconnects between the electronics and the backup power supply, typically a coin-size lithium battery that keeps memory alive when system power is off. This type of carbon is widely used in lithium-ion batteries today because it is inexpensive, highly conductive, and able to store lithium ions efficiently. Lithium Ion batteries for automobile applications are fairly new. Faster ion diffusion means faster charge and discharge capabilities. This nonleaking design, together with a virtually unlimited number of charge and discharge cycles, means that our supermicrocapacitors will likely outlast all other electronic devices on the chip. The centimeter-scale devices would have capacitances in the range of 400 to 1,000 millifarads-easily enough to power an LED flashlight for an hour. President Franklin D. Roosevelt liked it enough to buy a convertible sedan for use at his Warm Springs, Georgia, retreat. “Our goal is to remove the car from the environmental debate,” says Larry Burns, vice president for R&D and strategic planning at General Motors. And if the beleaguered automaker survives that long, GM may be able to achieve that goal.
And therein lies the problem. And on a practical level, there’s the problem of how to profitably build and market the Model 3 in large volumes, especially outside California. We had one more technical problem to overcome: geometry. We needed a planar geometry that could be fabricated in a way that would be compatible with modern microelectronics. As mass production expands, unit costs should plummet until microsupercapacitors find their way into camera phones, RFID tags, and solar cells. For instance, they could be fabricated on the backs-literally-of solar cells to store power generated during the day for use after sundown. The company credits you for the power you’ve generated. But no company can ever remove cars from the environmental equation. Hybrid cars do produce carbon dioxide, but typically at lower levels than traditional gasoline-powered cars. This type of Toyota hybrid battery is more suitable for traveling long distances. I tend to be fond of German engineering beyond all reason (such as my bizarre affection for a particular type of compressor-style supercharger, best known for its presence in late ’80s and mid ’90s VWs that was practically guaranteed to fail spectacularly at precisely 60,000 miles). The best bet is usually to get a whole new engine installed rather than try to repair the old broken one.