Proton discovery paves way to super-efficient batteries

Steven Lake

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2851571/Graphene-breakthrough-trigger-electric-car-revolution-Proton-discovery-paves-way-super-efficient-batteries.html

Not sure if someone covered this already, but hey, if this proves to be more than smoke and mirrors, imagine the plus side of this.

nsaspook

Re: Proton discovery paves way to super-efficient batteries

Steven Lake wrote: »

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2851571/Graphene-breakthrough-trigger-electric-car-revolution-Proton-discovery-paves-way-super-efficient-batteries.html

Not sure if someone covered this already, but hey, if this proves to be more than smoke and mirrors, imagine the plus side of this.

The researchers, led by Nobel Prize winner Sir Andre Geim of Manchester University, who discovered graphene, said their finding raises the possibility that, in future, graphene membranes could be used to ‘sieve’ hydrogen gas from the atmosphere to generate electricity.

Why do these guys say such things?

Even if they could with 100% efficency the free hydrogen in the atmosphere is so low (0.5 ppm) it's usually not even on the chart of gasses so if you sucked the entire atmosphere it might only power a city for a few years and first you have to ionize the air, which probably will take more energy than you'd get from burning the hydrogen you collect.

For fuel cells it has some possibilities as a Exchange Membrane (PEM).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proton_exchange_membrane

Steven Lake

Re: Proton discovery paves way to super-efficient batteries

See? This is why I post stuff like this. You guys are good at fleshing out the pros and cons of each system.

nsaspook

Re: Proton discovery paves way to super-efficient batteries

Steven Lake wrote: »

See? This is why I post stuff like this. You guys are good at fleshing out the pros and cons of each system.

It bugs me when people take good science and mix in total crap to make it look like the 'Next Big Thing'. Any bold statements with the word 'Graphene' and/or 'Hydrogen' should be taken as science speculation instead of fact.

BB.

Re: Proton discovery paves way to super-efficient batteries

Graphene, is there anything it cannot do?

http://www.popularmechanics.com/how-to/blog/graphene-layers-could-be-stronger-than-steel-17468354?click=pm_latest

Single Layers of Carbon Could Make Armor Stronger Than Steel

Single layers of carbon just one atom thick can be stronger than steel when it comes to absorbing impacts, suggesting it could help make extraordinary armor, researchers say.

The graphite making up pencil lead is made of atom-thick sheets known as graphene. This material is the strongest known yet, and is also flexible, transparent, and electrically and thermally conductive, qualities that have led scientists worldwide to investigate whether graphene could find use in advanced circuitry and other devices.
...
Currently there is no way to make large sheets of graphene, so any armor based on graphene "will need to stitch together graphene flakes," Lee says. He notes that graphene's weakness is that it is very brittle, but armor using graphene might potentially orient sheets of the material along several directions to help it resist cracking.

-Bill