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zarq (2)

iPhones, laptops, the Chevy Volt, and airplanes all have something in common - fires caused by lithium batteries. [more inside]
posted by backseatpilot on Dec 1, 2011 - 39 comments

How a Security Researcher Discovered the Apple Battery ‘Hack’ - How to destroy Hardware with Software.
posted by MechEng on Jul 26, 2011 - 51 comments

The First World Problems Rap (SLYT)
posted by swift on Jun 24, 2011 - 43 comments

Electronics companies all over the world are increasingly reliant on certain rare metals, most of which are mined in China, which controls 97 per cent of the global supply. The Chinese government has promised to slash export quotas to ensure future sustainability of the world's supply of rare metals. China will drop its quota by 35 per cent in the first half of this year as compared with the same time last year. But despite its escalating consumption of rare metals and the need for future sustainability, the West's electronics industry is mistrustful of China's motives and claims that the move has more to do with the mainland's desire to dominate electronics manufacturing than ensuring the future sustainability of the world's supply of rare metals. ~ Greening conscience or resource checkmate? The rare earth trilogy covers eWaste harvesting, restarting interest in mines and dithering around trade regulations, all in one neat package. [more inside]
posted by infini on Jan 29, 2011 - 18 comments

Microsoft introduces "an amazingly obvious tweak to battery tech that should save us some headaches, as well as several trillion hours of head-scratching and peering into dark holes." The innovation, called "Instaload" is a simple, low-tech battery contact design that allows cylindrical batteries (disposable and rechargeable) to be inserted in either direction, so users don't have to worry about which end is positive or negative. How? It puts a set of positive and negative contacts at both ends of a battery compartment. (From Microsoft: Press Release / Overview / Technology Brochure (pdf)) [more inside]
posted by zarq on Jul 7, 2010 - 113 comments

Chemically Driven Carbon-Nanotube-Guided Thermopower Waves (VIDEO) are "a new scientific area for research" and may be able to provide 100 times more energy by weight than a standard lithium-ion battery.
posted by HE Amb. T. S. L. DuVal on Mar 10, 2010 - 19 comments

How many oranges does it take to charge an Apple? (A SLYT post, via)
posted by zarq on Feb 13, 2010 - 46 comments

From the successful conversion of a Porsche 914 into a battery electric vehicle (BEV), MIT's Electric Vehicle Team are now working on the conversion of a Mercury Milan Hybrid into a quick-charging BEV. Instead of the typical 10 to 12 hours for a full charge, the MIT team is looking at an 11 minute charge-time for their BEV, dubbed "elEVen," and they're blogging in detail about their progress. (via) [more inside]
posted by filthy light thief on Jul 22, 2009 - 44 comments

Pics of the new Tesla S-Model have been leaked. With an anticipated price tag of 50K and a potential 45-minute recharge time, will this finally kick-start a true replacement to the internal combustion engine? And if so, where will the electricity come from? What future is there for the fuel-cell vehicle, or will fuel cells remain stationary? Is that really it for hydrogen? [more inside]
posted by molecicco on Mar 28, 2009 - 68 comments

Meta-efficiency is the analysis of efficiency at a more comprehensive level. Metaefficient Review assesses products considering not only their energy efficiency but also the embodied energy, toxicity, affordability, and usability. [more inside]
posted by netbros on Feb 28, 2009 - 4 comments

I'm not sure what the exact definition of geek is, but I think "enjoys recharging batteries" has to be very high on that list.
posted by grumblebee on Mar 20, 2008 - 55 comments

Betavoltaic Batteries are supposed to last 30 years, run cool, and be inert and harmless when depleted. The batteries, which generate electricity from radioactive decay, have a 50-year development history, but breakthroughs at the U.S. Air Force Research Lab are said to make the batteries practical for use in consumer applications. So why doesn't the Air Force lab's website feature this discovery? Maybe because it's a hoax, or a scam.
posted by Kirth Gerson on Oct 9, 2007 - 22 comments

Heretofore experimental, the Japanese have now marketed a battery that is urine-rechargeable.
posted by Burhanistan on Sep 7, 2007 - 24 comments

Due to recent fires, Dell is recalling over four million laptop batteries manufactured by Sony and sold worldwide in the past two years. Pictures of computers on fire (as well as their charred remains) circulated widely online, not allowing the company to easily dismiss the problem as an isolated incident. Other companies claim their products aren't affected by the same issues, but the nightmare might not be limited to Dell. The future of laptops on airplanes is not looking so good.
posted by kyleg on Aug 15, 2006 - 50 comments

Everything you always wanted to know about urine but were afraid to ask.
posted by DeepFriedTwinkies on Aug 26, 2005 - 14 comments

Los Alamos whistleblower "Tommy Hook is still hospitalized today after being brutally assaulted over the weekend," the Project on Government Oversight is saying. "A group of three to four assailants threatened Hook to keep silent, in apparent reference to his upcoming Congressional testimony on fraud at Los Alamos."
posted by Coherence Panda on Jun 7, 2005 - 31 comments

We've all, I'm sure by now, seen the movie two brothers made about thier iPod's "unreplaceable battery" and them broadcasting the movie they made of thier tech support call, and their defacing apple posters, to the four winds. We may have even read the article that came out over the weekend giving/taking credit for the introduction of the battery replacement program for ipods from Apple as a result of thier movie. (Here's one for 1/2 the price from other people that you can do yourself). So why doesn't the brother's movie site have this info? Are they just out for the publicity? This series of emails seems to prove that, as well as proving the pair of being ungrateful bastids.
posted by Dome-O-Rama on Jan 5, 2004 - 43 comments

Yet another case of zero intelligence. Two days after Tiffani Ann Alvera notified her public housing resident manager that she had obtained a restraining order against her husband for domestic violence, she received a notice to vacate the apartment within 24 hours. The notice said, "You, someone in your control, or your pet, has seriously threatened immediately to inflict personal injury, or has inflicted substantial personal injury upon the landlord or other tenants," and specified her husband's assault.
posted by jameschandler on Jul 11, 2001 - 4 comments