N Eye On Silicon

Have you heard of EEStor? They’re a pretty secretive company, but if what they claim is real - they’re going to revolutionise the modern world.

One component holding back every portable electronic device today is the battery. The chemical reaction inside a battery puts limits on how quickly it can recharge, and the capacity it can provide. If you lost your iPod charger, you’d be out of luck for a few days until you find it or buy a new one.

Capacitors don’t charge using chemicals, which allows them to recharge almost instantly and discharge just as quickly. Up until now, they haven’t been a feasible replacement for battery technology because they 

(despite their horrid misleading name) can’t actually store much power. Trying to force more power into these little buggers would simply result in the power leaking.

The EEStor capacitor is different - there is some kind of coating mixture they claim to have used that significantly improves the capacitor’s ability to hold charge. So much charge in fact, that they claim it could propel a car 250 miles!

Imagine having one of these beauties in your iPod, or better still - your laptop. Having a capacitor in your laptop would not only extend your laptop’s off-the-mains life, but could also allow you to power the peripherals around you. Charge your iPod, your cell phone, and still have power left for the other tasks. Stick it on the charging pod once a week, give it 30 seconds to charge, and continue as normal.

I think those in the real world call it ‘convenience’.

Keep tuned on EEStor, it’s very promising.