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Huge advancements have been made in some technologies the recent years.
Computer chips have increased speed and digital displays have become a lot sharper and brighter.
Battery technology on the other end is largely stuck in the 20th century.
Lithium-ion batteries were first build in 1985 in Japan and were commercialised in 1991 by Sony.
They are the most used batteries in laptops and phones today.
If I did the math correctly, that's 1, 2, 3... 31 years that they are in use!
As you probably guessed, the reason why this happens is cost.
Batteries are already very expensive.
Actually, they are the most expensive components in phones.
This makes them difficult to implement because end customers are not willing to pay anything additional
And companies take advantage of the short lasting batteries to make extra profit.
They are also very aware of the limitation of these batteries so they are funding new battery technologies
Let's take a look at a couple of discoveries
Lithium-sulfur batteries are very promising and strong candidates for the next generation battery technology.
They can be produced with cheaper materials and offer up to 5 times
the energy density of current Li-ion batteries, without the need for extra space.
These batteries are supposed to give electric cars as much range as a typical gas tank.
They are also candidates for phones.
This is how they work:
While driving, oxygen from the air reacts with lithium ions, forming lithium peroxide on a carbon matrix
Upon recharge, the oxygen returns to the atmosphere and the lithium goes back into the anode
If magnesium replaces lithium, we can expect 5 times higher charge-discharge efficiency
and 8 to 12 times higher energy density!
This happens because the magnesium ions carry a double positive charge
elevating the overall energy density amount that can be stored.
There are some obstacles to overcome, but researchers are optimistic.
If you want to check more fascinating battery technologies, I've put a link in the description below.