It’s been common knowledge these days that China has a monopoly on rare earth minerals. Sure, other parts of the world might have vast deposits, but when it comes to production, no one comes close to beating China. This kind of geopolitical-economic clout is now being used to good, if worrying, effect. News has just broken that China will not export any rare earth minerals for a whole month. In the board rooms of the world’s largest electronic companies, a lot of people are probably wincing right now.

via: geeky-gadgets

Lithium-ion (Li-ion) rechargeable batteries will now last longer thanks to an innovation made by Denki Kagaku Kogyo K. K. in collaboration with SEI Corp. They have successfully come up with a positive-electrode composite material which will give longer life to the Li-ion batteries from now on. The news in this regard was broken to the media yesterday on 26th April by the company itself.

It was also announced that the SEI Corp has helped in improving the electrical conductivity of an existing lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) to achieve a low resistance. Generally Li-ion batteries which uses lithium iron phosphate has a short charged discharge cycle. But the use of the new composite material gives the normal rechargeable Li-ion batteries an increased life which can be compared with other Li-ion batteries which uses other materials.

Cost involved:

The cost involved in developing the material was not too much since it did not require any special facilities. Everything was developed based on the company’s own knowledge in this area. The only difference is that here unlike other existing iron based positive electrode materials, no shattering of materials were required.

The making:

The new composite material that has been invented is made sing a material called acetylene black. This is developed by pyrolytically decomposing acetylene, and carbon nanofibers as conductive additives to LiFePO4. After this the materials are combined firmly to get a new material which is 30% less than that of an existing iron-based positive-electrode material.

What’s new:

Things which have been used in developing this positive electrode composite material are all new. Things like acetylene black have not been used before in projects such as these. Also the process that has been used for creating this “wonder composite” is amazing. It did not require any special facility to develop this.

Applications:

The increased life of a Li-ion battery will definitely help in saving energy. Denki Kagaku Kogyo confirmed that with this technology implemented the life of a Li-ion battery will increase by many folds especially in case of automotive applications. Currently the longest charge-discharge cycle life of a large-size Li-ion rechargeable battery is 2000-3000. The company is currently in the process of providing this new material to the automobile manufacturers, electronic parts manufacturers & power companies.

source: techon

For 60 minutes, we should all turn off any non-essential lights and appliances and just go for a walk. Please shut off the X-BOX and PS3 and Wii. No porn either. Mother Earth will appreciate it. After all, she brought you into this world and she can take you out. A lot of people don’t give a damn about it, I know, I read the tech blogs, but the WWF thinks it is a valid concept. My self, I really don’t see what 60 minutes will do for the earth. Earth Hour begins at 8:30 pm local time. For more info, go to http://earthhour.org.