The University of Michigan has come up with a novel idea. Apparently they had asked themselves “Why can’t we power our own cell-phones and other devices?” Playing with the regenerative braking systems that are in some Hybrid vehicles they came up with a knee brace that captures the kinetic energy released as we walk.
This could [...]

As our society tries to get less and less dependant on oil, we need other forms of power to be reasonable and renewable. It needs to have the power that we need when we need it, yet at the same time it can’t cost & arm and a leg. Too many body parts are being [...]

Heliotron Energy over in Greece has been working on increasing the rather sad efficiency of Solar cells. The current efficiency rating is usually hovering around 12-14%. This however isn’t even going to come close to making a dent in our power supply needs.
Heliotron has been working hard and has actually hit a few milestones in [...]

As more and more companies realize that is just as important to condition your batteries as well as charge them, we will see chargers taking advantage of this important feature to extend the life and usage of our precious laptops.
NewerTech has developed a charger/conditioner for your PowerBook®, iBook®, MacBook®, and MacBook Pro batteries. Their first [...]

Advanced Analogic Technologies Incorporated (don’t say that to quick) has announced the AAT3663. This chip is in a new line of 1A linear battery charger integrated circuits that are capable of charging 2 Lithium-ion cells in series. It has been designed to work through an AC adapter or through a USB port. It uses their [...]

Texas Instruments has been working on a new chip that will go into your cell phone to tell you down to the minute how much battery life you have left before your cell phone dies. As the new chip monitors more than just the voltage of your battery it is far more accurate. Texas Instruments [...]

New Laptop Charger Technology
Laptop chargers are designed to charge your battery at the maximum rate while the computer is off. When your computer is on, the charging current is usually reduced to a low rate to avoid overloading your AC adapter.
 Anyone that has replaced an AC adapter for your laptop knows that these items aren’t [...]

Well VDC Electronics has patented a method to restore sulphated batteries. They use it one their BatteryMINDer series of chargers. What their chargers do, is to resonate a battery pulse that breaks down the lead sulphate crystals, allowing the molecules to then return to the electrolyte. Not every battery can be reconditioned as some will [...]

What is Sulphation? Sulphation is simply crystals of lead sulphate (PbS04) that have formed on the lead storage plates in lead-acid batteries. When these batteries are not charged correctly (over/under) or they are allowed to self discharge from sitting in storage and collecting dust. These crystals build up over time and prevent the battery from [...]