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Wow, that’s great! I can’t wait to read about it for the next decade and never see an actual product using it. Seriously though, battery science must be as har

Wow, that’s great! I can’t wait to read about it for the next decade and never see an actual product using it. Seriously though, battery science must be as hard as they say. Every six months I read about some promising new development... that never, ever filters down to consumers.

Retric 6y ago
Battery’s have been constantly improving, so a lot of really promising research from 20 years ago ends up looking like a tiny incremental change when it hits the market.
- teddyh 6y ago
  Things developed 20 years ago hit their prime today because that’s when the patents expire.
speedgoose 6y ago
But it does. Newer batteries have more capacity and charge faster. It's very obvious on smartphones or electric cars.
- kalleboo 6y ago
  I believe battery densities double approximately every 10 years. So yes they do improve. But just as much of the improvement we see in devices is making them draw less power. The press releases about battery development breakthroughs always promise instant order-of-magnitude improvements, something we never actually see.
rhacker 6y ago
Very true, I'm still waiting for my 80% solar panels.
- adrianN 6y ago
  Do you want to launch a satellite where every gram counts? We have plenty of space to put solar panels, Dollars per Watt is what you want to optimize and that measure has improved by orders of magnitude in the last twenty years.
  - rhacker 6y ago
    Well, my RV has room for about 6, and with 80% panels I could have air conditioning without being plugged in and not have to cover a 1/4 acre of desert with roll-out panels and store them too.
    - c22 6y ago
      And keep them clean!
  - Retric 6y ago
    There are some really interesting applications of high efficiency solar panels. At 40+% efficiency you can charge slightly modified EV’S left outside enough to break 15,000 miles of added range per year. It's not currently practical, but drop the price enough and it’s a compelling use case. Unfortunately, even 80% isn't enough for high speed solar aircraft, but they could offset a lot of fuel needed for APU’s and even supply useful amounts of thrust.
    - raffraffraff 6y ago
      Screw planes. I want zeppelins to come back. And let's make them nuclear, baby. And maybe add sails to take advantage of the wind if it's going our way. A properly zero emissions way to travel. Plus, with the huge surface area of the zeppelin coated in solar collectors, you heat the passenger compartment and turn every surface into a wireless charger.
      - Retric 6y ago
        A 150+ mph electric zeppelin seems like a viable technology. You get vertical takeoff and landing and low noise, which should let you do have many of the advantages of high speed rail at much lower capital costs. Battery weight isn’t such a big deal as long as your limited to say a 2 hour flight. Most inner cities are right next to water so you do the bus approach of inner city to inner city while swapping batteries.

Retric 6y ago

Battery’s have been constantly improving, so a lot of really promising research from 20 years ago ends up looking like a tiny incremental change when it hits the market.

teddyh 6y ago
Things developed 20 years ago hit their prime today because that’s when the patents expire.

speedgoose 6y ago

But it does. Newer batteries have more capacity and charge faster. It's very obvious on smartphones or electric cars.

kalleboo 6y ago
I believe battery densities double approximately every 10 years. So yes they do improve. But just as much of the improvement we see in devices is making them draw less power. The press releases about battery development breakthroughs always promise instant order-of-magnitude improvements, something we never actually see.

rhacker 6y ago

Very true, I'm still waiting for my 80% solar panels.

adrianN 6y ago
Do you want to launch a satellite where every gram counts? We have plenty of space to put solar panels, Dollars per Watt is what you want to optimize and that measure has improved by orders of magnitude in the last twenty years.
- rhacker 6y ago
  Well, my RV has room for about 6, and with 80% panels I could have air conditioning without being plugged in and not have to cover a 1/4 acre of desert with roll-out panels and store them too.
  - c22 6y ago
    And keep them clean!
- Retric 6y ago
  There are some really interesting applications of high efficiency solar panels. At 40+% efficiency you can charge slightly modified EV’S left outside enough to break 15,000 miles of added range per year. It's not currently practical, but drop the price enough and it’s a compelling use case. Unfortunately, even 80% isn't enough for high speed solar aircraft, but they could offset a lot of fuel needed for APU’s and even supply useful amounts of thrust.
  - raffraffraff 6y ago
    Screw planes. I want zeppelins to come back. And let's make them nuclear, baby. And maybe add sails to take advantage of the wind if it's going our way. A properly zero emissions way to travel. Plus, with the huge surface area of the zeppelin coated in solar collectors, you heat the passenger compartment and turn every surface into a wireless charger.
    - Retric 6y ago
      A 150+ mph electric zeppelin seems like a viable technology. You get vertical takeoff and landing and low noise, which should let you do have many of the advantages of high speed rail at much lower capital costs. Battery weight isn’t such a big deal as long as your limited to say a 2 hour flight. Most inner cities are right next to water so you do the bus approach of inner city to inner city while swapping batteries.