Nanotech energy using pure carbon and some fuel

Some of you might’ve already heard about this cool new science finding, which reports scientists finding a new way to create energy efficiently using carbon nanotubes. These nanotubes sized at a small fraction of the thickness of a single string of hair pack quite some punch with them. Add in some fuel such as gasoline and ignite it and the tube begins emitting high velocity electrons (also dubbed with the word “electricity”).

The researchers patched up a system in size and setup comparable to a regular lithium-ion battery. When testing this setup, they noticed that an unengineered test subject gave out energy ten times more than a basic lithium-ion battery used in small devices such as cellphones and cameras:

The devices built in the MIT lab produced 10 times more power than a lithium-ion battery of equivalent mass.

—TechNewsDaily

As far as the theory goes, researchers say we could see these mini-batteries in the shelves of our local electronics stores and inside our personal cellphones within five years. Of course further engineering, implementation, paperwork and costs make the wait longer, but at least there is something cool happening in the near future.

“We have a lot of engineering challenges that we have to overcome in order to make this a commercial device,” Strano said, “but nothing is as difficult as the initial discovery.”

Researchers say they could even flip-around the current electric car technology, using more electricity and minor amounts of fuel which can be ignited inside the miniscule nanotubes to recharge car batteries which make the vehicle move.

Some questions I had in mind is about the lifetime and feasibility of these systems:

• Are the electrons produced from the carbon tubes or the fuel it uses? Both? How would one then “recharge” these tubes?
• How much would a system to power up a moderate sized apartment cost in reality?
• Is this technology feasible for larger systems such as entire space stations or whole cities?
• How would it be better than solar, geothermal or wind energy?
• How fuel-efficient is this technology? The report states the possible use of gasoline and ethanol, but how much fuel does it need when compared to a combustion engine or a solar energy harvester for instance?

Many questions on new technology, but its part of science.

Nevertheless, exciting news if this finding stands proving and further experiments. Post your thoughts on this technology in the comments section!