Student Accidentally Created Rechargeable Battery That Lasts for 400 Years
The microwave was invented when a man was experimenting with a new vacuum tube. The idea for the ink-jet printer came about when a Canon engineer left his hot iron on a pen by mistake, and the ink exploded. When a scientist working with coal tar forgot to wash his hands after dinner, he discovered artificial sweeteners. The potato chip was invented when an angry chef wanted to get revenge on a customer who complained that his potatoes were too thick and soggy. These things were invented by accident, and they changed our world.
Mya Le Thai is a doctoral student at the University of California, Irvine. She wanted to do something to change the world someday. She just never thought that she would do it so quickly and by mistake. This student accidentally created a rechargable battery that lasts for 400 years. Talk about an incredible discovery.
The magic of rechargeable batteries is that you don’t need to throw them away when the battery dies. You simply plug the battery into a power source and your battery charges. The most common items that have rechargeable batteries are cell phones, laptop computers, and tablets. You can also buy AA and AAA batteries that sit in a charger when they start to die. The only problem with this is that over time, the battery loses its ability to charge. This means that you would need to buy a new battery. On average, a laptop battery can be charged between 300 and 500 times.
Mya and the other researchers in her lab were experimenting with nanowires that are used in batteries. During their research, they discovered that these thin, fragile wires would break down and crack after multiple charging cycles. This is what makes it difficult to recharge the battery. During this research, Mya had an idea.
Mya thought that if she coated a set of nanowires in manganese dioxide and a Plexiglas-like electrolyte gel. She didn’t think much of it at the time. She didn’t even think that it would work. According to the chair of the university’s chemistry department, she started to cycle these gel capacitors, and that’s when they discovered something shocking. She discovered that the thing had been cycling 10,000 cycles and it was still going. A few days later, she returned to the lab. She found that it had still been cycling and it had gone through over 30,000 cycles. This continued for a month. Over time, the battery cycled over 200,000 times.
The average laptop battery lasts for about 300 to 500 charging cycles. When the battery can no longer cycle, it will no longer charge. This means you would need to buy a new battery. Mya discovered that she could create a battery that can survive 200,000 charging cycles in the months while losing only 5 percent of its capacity. This means that it is possible to extend the average laptop battery for up to 400 years. Thanks to her idea, we may never need to replace our laptop batteries again. This can also work for cell phone batteries, tablet batteries, and any other type of rechargeable battery.
The gold nanowire, the manganese dioxide, and the electrolyte gel would drive up the cost of the battery. Researchers are looking for an alternative. They believe that a nickel substitute would be great for mass production and keeping costs down.
Not only would batteries that last 400 years be good for the consumer, but they would also be great for the environment. Landfills all around the world are full of rechargeable batteries that no longer work. If electronics started to be made with long-lasting batteries that last centuries, the number of laptop and cellphone batteries in landfills would decline quickly.
Mya created these batteries by mistake. She wasn’t looking to invent the longest lasting battery known to man, but she still did it. She never imagined one simple idea to turn into something so incredible. Thanks to Mya, one day, we might be able to live in a world where replacing your laptop or cell phone battery will be a thing of the past.
Like this content? Subscribe here:
Or, watch more videos here: