I’m sick of my laptop battery running out of juice in 45 minutes, weighing down my computer, and taking up so much room. Researches at MIT are developing new battery technology, which in time will revolutionize the electronics, apparel, and automotive industry (and solve my laptop problem). The batteries are constructed on a nano-scale using microscopic viruses. Viruses seem like a strange source of power generation, but its how it is utilized that is quite stunning. The viruses attract individual molecules of material, like cobalt oxide, which automatically forms wires 17,000 times thinner than a sheet of paper. These pack together to form tiny electrodes which will reduce the size of batteries considerably.

Enough of the mechanical stuff…you wanna hear about the application of this new technology. It has three uses: film-like structures, mesh-like structures, and fiber-like structures. Film-like structures can form a cell-sized clear film to power small objects such as medical devices and smartcards. Mesh-like structures are comprised of billions of tiny nano-components all interfaced together which will replace conventional batteries and drastically reduce them in size. Lastly, fiber-like structures are spun from liquid crystals like spider silk. They can be woven into textiles providing electronic fabric. The uses for these are endless. Who knows, maybe some day we will plug our power hungry gadgets into our clothing. That is, if the viruses don’t take over! [Via Popular Mechanics]

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