| Consortium Achieves Record-High Solar Cell Efficiency
A University of Delaware-led consortium has achieved a record-breaking combined solar cell efficiency of 42.8 percent from sunlight at standard terrestrial conditions, and will team with DuPont in a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency project to transition the lab-scale work to an engineering and manufacturing prototype model. .
It bends! It twists! It's a paper-like battery!
It's a battery that looks like a piece of paper and can be bent or twisted, trimmed with scissors or molded into any shape needed. While the battery is only a prototype a few inches square right now, the researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute who developed it have high hopes for it in electronics and other fields that need smaller, lighter power sources. "We would like to scale this up to the point where you can imagine printing batteries like a newspaper. That would be the ultimate," Robert Linhardt, a professor at the Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies at RPI, said in a telephone interview. The development is reported in this week's online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Unlike other batteries, Linhardt said, it is an integrated device, not a combination of pieces.
p0308 BC-Finland-Nokia-Battery 1stLd-Writethru 08-14 0331
Eds: CORRECTS that Nokia did not recall batteries, but will replace upon request. Moving on financial services. HELSINKI, Finland (AP) -- Nokia Corp. warned Tuesday that up to 46 million batteries used in some of its cell phones could be faulty and pose a risk of overheating. The advisory applies to batteries manufactured by Matsushita from December 2005 to November 2006, the world's largest mobile phone maker said. Matsushita Battery Industrial Co. Ltd. of Japan is one of several suppliers that have together made some 300 million BL-5C batteries. The lithium-ion battery is one of 14 different types of battery used in Nokia phones. Nokia said 100 incidents of overheating of the Matsushita-made BL-5C batteries have been reported worldwide, but added that "no serious injuries or property damage have been reported." "Consumers with a BL-5C battery subject to this advisory should note that all of the approximately 100 incidents have occurred while charging the battery," the Finnish company said.
MacBook: the first 15 minutes
I recently pulled the trigger on a new MacBook. Not wanting to regret the purchasing decision, I went for the top of the line white MacBook, which includes the SuperDrive that lets me write to DVD. What follows is the out-of-box experience in the first 15 minutes of owning a new MacBook. .
Nokia warns consumers of battery overheating risks
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Opportunity Calls Home After Some Solar Juice Cranks Up The Batteries Los Angeles CA (JPL) Jul 24, 2007
Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity called home Monday morning indicating the power situation improved slightly during recent days when it obeyed commands to refrain from communicating with Earth in order to conserve power. Dust storms on Mars have darkened skies over Opportunity and its twin, Spirit. The rovers rely on solar panels to generate electricity from sunlight. Last week, solarcell output for Opportunity had dropped by 80 percent from a month earlier. ... read more
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Xmas gift on the way: Laptops for $350!
BOSTON, US: A nonprofit group that designs low-cost computers for poor children may start selling $350 laptops on the commercial market by Christmas, an executive said. The One Laptop Per Child Foundation's chief technology officer, Mary Lou Jepsen, said the computer could sell initially for about $350, or twice its production cost, although the group is also considering a higher price tag. Its entry to the commercial market would be a challenge to traditional PC industry companies, including Microsoft Corp., Dell Inc., Hewlett-Packard Co. and Lenovo Group Ltd. "The PC industry will be watching this very closely," said Roger Kay, an analyst with PC market researcher Endpoint Technologies Associates Inc. Although the green-and-white XO was designed for elementary school children in poor countries, analysts say that some of the features make it attractive to kids in wealthier countries as well as adults.
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