Found this additional info on Ultra-capacitors;
http://unisci.com/stories/19991/0329994.htm
Ultracapacitor Could Impact All Electrical Energy Use
Researchers have developed an ultracapacitor with the
ability to deliver millions of discharge cycles -- a
development with the potential to impact nearly every domain
of electrical energy use from transportation to
communications and computing.
Building upon an existing research patent in conducting
polymers, the Los Alamos scientists have created a new
single-cell ultracapacitor with high energy density --
meaning it can hold a lot of energy in a small volume.
The prototype ultracapacitor is the size of a dime and
contains microscopic carbon fibers specially coated with
conducting polymer to act as charge-storage material.
In one sense, ultracapacitors lie somewhere between a
battery and a capacitor. Conventional batteries provide
stored energy for extended periods of time, but have
peak-power and cycling limitations. Because of chemical
reactions that occur within the battery, they have limited
ability to charge and discharge energy repeatedly and
quickly.
Conventional capacitors are capable of repeatedly providing
high levels of power, but can hold very little energy. As a
result, they often cannot discharge this power for more than
a few microseconds.
Ultracapacitors store high levels of energy in a small
volume and then release that energy in power bursts. In an
automobile application, for example, a vehicle might use
this burst of power to accelerate or climb a hill.
Because ultracapacitors move electrical charges between
conducting materials, rather than performing any chemistry,
they maintain an ability to cycle far longer than batteries.
Ultracapacitors, by design, are lighter and smaller than
batteries with comparable peak-power levels.
The new ultracapacitor was created by electroplating a
unique conducting polymer material onto the carbon fibers of
a small, paper-thin disk, covering the active material with
a porous separator and adding electrolytic solution before
sealing the device.
-- KeelyNet - From an Art to a Science Jerry W. Decker - http://www.keelynet.com/discussion archives http://www.escribe.com/science/keelynet/KeelyNet - PO BOX 870716 - Mesquite, TX 75187 - 214.324.8741------------------------------------------------------------- To leave this list, email <listserver@keelynet.com> with the body text: leave Interact list archives and on line subscription forms are at http://keelynet.com/interact/ -------------------------------------------------------------