Devices of the future will store energy in wires

Batteries have always been one of the biggest challenges in developing small and lightweight gadgets. They are quite bulky and occupy a significant part of the volume of smartphones or tablets. But imagine that batteries could be removed and replaced with internal wiring that could store energy inside the wire itself. This is the goal set by a team of researchers from the University of Central Florida in Orlando. Professor Jaiyan Thomas and Dr. Zenan Yu have developed a way to coat copper wires with a special shell made from an alloy of filamentous nanocrystals. Such a shell becomes one of two electrodes needed to create a supercapacitor. A second tube with nanocrystals is added through the plastic substrate and the capacitor is ready. The inner copper wire still conducts electricity, and the outer shell can store energy.

This method of energy storage can be used in absolutely any electrical devices, especially in those where there is little free space. But, despite the undeniable advantages, this method has a serious drawback. If a normal battery fails and stops holding charge, it is very easy to replace it. Replacing all the wiring in the device will be much more difficult. Most likely, scientists understand this and will work to increase the life of such wires.

Source: techcult.ru