Ultracapacitor - THE Solution for Gas Guzzling Vehicles?!

ganesh

Guys,

I recently came across an article on EEStor, an ultracapacitor which can be used to power vehicles.

More information can be found in this link:

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1141599010468&call_pageid=970599109774&col=Columnist971715454851

What do you guys think would be the veracity of this story? I sure hope something works out from this and gives us a cleaner fuel to ply our vehicles with!

ocalhoun

*Eagerly awaiting the superbattery*

Reaper

It's an interesting idea to say the least, and if they do get it to work something tells me electric cars will become very affordable, It'l be a truly new world when we walk about complaning about electricity prices but until then we can still complain about gas prices Very Happy

SonLight

The article, and the idea, are indeed interesting. It appears that this could be either pure hype or a product nearly ready for production. The best we can do is try to understand the physics of possible capacitors, consider what obstacles they would have to overcome, and try to estimate the safety, reliability, and reasonability of their claims.

Capacitors depend on the surface area of the conductors, the distance between the two conductors, and the voltage on the conductors. The first concern with this is that they will have to have huge voltages which would create a safety hazard. A super-good insulator could reduce the risk in two ways. First, it would allow the two conductors (plates) to be very close together, Second, it would allow many plates to be stacked within a small space. I would imagine that insulators of pretty good quality could be found, but as the plates get thinner and maybe wider, would the conductor be up to the task of carrying the current needed?

My initial guess is that thousands of volts might be needed. If so, the big issue would be protecting the overall package from excessive heat and/or leakage currents to obtain safety. If that's the issue they are coping with, it would explain why they do not want any publicity until they have a solution to the problem.