{"id":4615,"date":"2011-10-05T22:39:10","date_gmt":"2011-10-06T05:39:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/?p=4615"},"modified":"2011-10-05T22:40:43","modified_gmt":"2011-10-06T05:40:43","slug":"no-pain-in-this-membrane","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/no-pain-in-this-membrane\/","title":{"rendered":"No Pain in This Membrane"},"content":{"rendered":"

On September 30, the National University of Singapore <\/a>announced the world’s first energy-storage membrane, with the claim that it “outstrips existing rechargeable batteries and supercapacitors,\u201d and according to Science Daily<\/a><\/em>, \u201cSurpasses existing rechargeable batteries and supercapacitors.”<\/p>\n

The cheese-cloth appearance looks a bit like a gauze bandage, but when sandwiched between what are alternatively described as two thin metal plates or two graphite plates can hold a significant charge much greater than that of conventional batteries or supercapacitors.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

National University of Singapore's significant membrane<\/p><\/div>\n

The material, developed by a team from the National University of Singapore’s Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Initiative (NUSNNI), <\/a>and led by principle investigator Dr Xie Xian Ning, is capable of holding a \u201ccharge at 0.2 farads per square centimeter. This is well above the typical upper limit of 1 microfarad per square centimeter for a standard capacitor,\u201d according to the University.<\/p>\n

Because energy storage in capacitors is usually measured in farads, How Stuff Works<\/em> <\/a>calculates the following to help us understand what that means in more common, AA battery terms.<\/p>\n

…A 1-farad capacitor can hold 1 amp-second of electrons at 1 volt.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>A 1-farad capacitor would typically be pretty big.\u00a0 It might be as big as a can of tuna or a 1-liter soda bottle, depending on the voltage it can handle. For this reason, capacitors are typically measured in
\nmicrofarads (millionths of a farad).<\/em><\/p>\n

To get some perspective on how big a farad is, think about this:<\/em><\/p>\n