The Intel-backed Mobile PC Extended Battery Life Working Group has published guidelines for vendors keen to create fuel cells to power portable PCs. The document is intended to provide fuel-cell developers will details of the devices their products will have to power, whether the cells will sit inside the devices in place of regular rechargeable batteries, or operate as an alternative to an external AC adaptor. Essentially, it defines the problem the fuel cell developers have to solve.
You’re gotta wonder, now that the TSA has outlawed even cigarette lighters onboard commercial aircraft, just how they might react to a fuel cell or microturbine powered laptops.
That could be a very serious stumbling block to these new technologies.
Of course, TSA had wanted to outlaw laptops and batteries of all forms years ago, but the airlines pushed back so as not to anger their business customers. The TSA restrictions are so inconsistant, ridiculous, and politicised that perhaps it won’t matter.
heck, cellphones and their exploding batteries should be a cause for concern as well
This is an amazingly important topic, so it’s a shame to see such few comments so far. Then again, what can be said? “Yeah, power’s a big problem with mobile stuff.” The situation could also be improved with wall-plugged stuff.
I would dig some cheap fuel cells I could wire up to my electronics / PDAs / labtop.
that’d be cool!
A Fuel cell is basicly a mini powerplant that is fueld by hydrogen…. it creates electricity for use in a device.
They have had hard problems storing hydrogen (but have successfully done so in ice).. which needs to be addressed further..
What they don’t tell you is that hydrogen is produced from natural gas and from running electricity through water… *It costs more to create it than it is to run it* It’s huge propoganda from the energy companies. 99% of hydrogen comes from natural gas, which is a limited resources.
Mr. Bush believes that we should build hundreds of nuclear power plants (VERY DANGEROUS!) to create hydrogen. They also are exploring geneticly creating microorganisms to generate hydrogen.
Basicly, if we used wind, solar, ocean wave, hydro, geothermal to create energy and simply plug our cars and computers into a socket it would be much more efficient and environmentally friendly.
THE ONLY advantage to fuel cells is that you don’t have to wait for something to be charged…. But you know, it is likely possible to create some method of charging a battery in seconds rather than hours in the future. Such a thing would probably be solved longer if they used more money toward that instead of nasty fuel cells.
So either wait longer for your car or computer to charge up or create a method that charges it in seconds (as if your at a gas pump).. You know anything is possible with a little R&D.
So, it’s pretty obviouis that fuel cells is big energy industry’s answer to the oil issue. Environmentalists beware.