car battery news image
Q. I have recently watched the movie,"Who killed the electric car" It was great. Now I want to work in this field. I have my degree in BA. I'm not really interesting in going back to school, but wonder what company could I work at to get started?
Answer
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This is a tough one, because a job in a startup electric vehicle company could be risky. On the other hand, I couldn't think of a better time to take a chance on the future of electric vehicles. There's a lot of activity in battery research, and prototype electric vehicles.
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Some exciting battery companies to work for:
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EEstor makes a revolutionary battery replacement - the ultracapacitor:
http://www.eestor.us/
(This webpage is under contruction because they haven't launched their product yet. Read about EEstor here:)
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1141599010468&call_pageid=970599109774&col=Columnist971715454851
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123 Systems makes an improved Lithium Ion battery:
http://www.a123systems.com/html/news/articles/051102_news.html
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Firefly Energy has invented an improved lead-acid battery. This is exciting because they will be light, cheap to make, can drop right into existing lead-acid applications, and will have greatly improved performance.
http://www.fireflyenergy.com/ffy.html
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Here's another improved Li-Ion battery, using nanotechnology:
http://www.altairnano.com/
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Next, here's a few companies building electric cars:
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http://www.teslamotors.com (California)
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http://electrovaya.com/innovation/zev_tech.html
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http://www.feelgoodcars.com/ (Canada)
This company has made a deal for the EEstor ultracapacitors.
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http://phoenixmotorcars.com (California)
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There's more, too, I keep finding new stuff every day.
Best of luck!
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----------
This is a tough one, because a job in a startup electric vehicle company could be risky. On the other hand, I couldn't think of a better time to take a chance on the future of electric vehicles. There's a lot of activity in battery research, and prototype electric vehicles.
*
Some exciting battery companies to work for:
*
EEstor makes a revolutionary battery replacement - the ultracapacitor:
http://www.eestor.us/
(This webpage is under contruction because they haven't launched their product yet. Read about EEstor here:)
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1141599010468&call_pageid=970599109774&col=Columnist971715454851
*
123 Systems makes an improved Lithium Ion battery:
http://www.a123systems.com/html/news/articles/051102_news.html
*
Firefly Energy has invented an improved lead-acid battery. This is exciting because they will be light, cheap to make, can drop right into existing lead-acid applications, and will have greatly improved performance.
http://www.fireflyenergy.com/ffy.html
*
Here's another improved Li-Ion battery, using nanotechnology:
http://www.altairnano.com/
*
Next, here's a few companies building electric cars:
*
http://www.teslamotors.com (California)
*
http://electrovaya.com/innovation/zev_tech.html
*
http://www.feelgoodcars.com/ (Canada)
This company has made a deal for the EEstor ultracapacitors.
*
http://phoenixmotorcars.com (California)
*
There's more, too, I keep finding new stuff every day.
Best of luck!
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Do batteries last longer when you let them die before you charge them again?
Maddox
I have argued this to death with my boyfriend. I know it's silly but I want to know the answer.
My boyfriend refuses to recharge electrical devices (iPods, cell phones, etc.) until the battery dies completely. He claims that the battery will last longer if this is done. I tell him it doesn't make any difference. Can anyone confirm or deny his theory?
Answer
I've been a TV broadcast engineer working with portable news equipment since the 1970's. For consumers, the 'charge memory' has been pretty much a myth. It's true enough, but under very limited conditions that consumers rarely see. And with NiCd's being pretty much obsolete, the current NiMh batteries don't suffer such problems. Nor do Lithium-Ion batteries. The problem occurred from cadmium crystals which don't exist in todays batteries. No cadmium.
There is also a populat myth that partial charges equal full charges, and a battery has a finite number of those charges. But, that number is an average. In the U.S., the 'average' age for men is 77 years old. But that's including everyone who's murdered, killed in car accidents, and dies at childbirth, along with Bryant Gumbal's interminable 120-year-old grandmothers.
So, if the average life expetancy is 77, and the average hearbeat is 60 per minute, then a person has roughly 41 million heartbeats in his life. Running or exercising, which makes your heart beat faster, does NOT use up your life faster.
Same with batteries. Recharging them more often does not use them up faster. It's an AVERAGE. What DOES use them up faster is running them as low as possible. Also, slamming fast charges into them uses up life. Like running until you puke, and then keep running some more. Your heart isn't using up beats, it's just giving out with a heart attack. And lastly, leaving it charging long after it's fully charged is not helpful.
I charge my cellphone every night. My mp3 player, I DO wait until the battery stops and then put in another one while I recharge the first one. They've lasted for years. There are so many more factors that will affect the lifespan of rechargeable batteries than the charging method.
Take my word for it or not, but I have a degree, certifications, and professional licenses, which a salesman at Radio Shack is extremely unlikely to possess.
Edit: Just thinking, let me add a point that a non-engineer can see. Do you know what your car battery does? It doesn't run the car. It just runs the starter. Once your car is running, the battery is no longer needed. But it took some of the battery charge to start your car. So the car's charging system recharges the battery. It does this everytime you operate your car. In fact, it's downright harmful to your car battery to let it die out before recharging it. The more you do that, the more harmful it becomes. But think about it, as long as you aren't having electrical problems in your car, how often do you have to replace the battery, even though it recharges after every single use?
I've been a TV broadcast engineer working with portable news equipment since the 1970's. For consumers, the 'charge memory' has been pretty much a myth. It's true enough, but under very limited conditions that consumers rarely see. And with NiCd's being pretty much obsolete, the current NiMh batteries don't suffer such problems. Nor do Lithium-Ion batteries. The problem occurred from cadmium crystals which don't exist in todays batteries. No cadmium.
There is also a populat myth that partial charges equal full charges, and a battery has a finite number of those charges. But, that number is an average. In the U.S., the 'average' age for men is 77 years old. But that's including everyone who's murdered, killed in car accidents, and dies at childbirth, along with Bryant Gumbal's interminable 120-year-old grandmothers.
So, if the average life expetancy is 77, and the average hearbeat is 60 per minute, then a person has roughly 41 million heartbeats in his life. Running or exercising, which makes your heart beat faster, does NOT use up your life faster.
Same with batteries. Recharging them more often does not use them up faster. It's an AVERAGE. What DOES use them up faster is running them as low as possible. Also, slamming fast charges into them uses up life. Like running until you puke, and then keep running some more. Your heart isn't using up beats, it's just giving out with a heart attack. And lastly, leaving it charging long after it's fully charged is not helpful.
I charge my cellphone every night. My mp3 player, I DO wait until the battery stops and then put in another one while I recharge the first one. They've lasted for years. There are so many more factors that will affect the lifespan of rechargeable batteries than the charging method.
Take my word for it or not, but I have a degree, certifications, and professional licenses, which a salesman at Radio Shack is extremely unlikely to possess.
Edit: Just thinking, let me add a point that a non-engineer can see. Do you know what your car battery does? It doesn't run the car. It just runs the starter. Once your car is running, the battery is no longer needed. But it took some of the battery charge to start your car. So the car's charging system recharges the battery. It does this everytime you operate your car. In fact, it's downright harmful to your car battery to let it die out before recharging it. The more you do that, the more harmful it becomes. But think about it, as long as you aren't having electrical problems in your car, how often do you have to replace the battery, even though it recharges after every single use?
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