Solar Powered Pools

Current laptops or notebook computers have one
major obstacle to overcome: short battery life.
Despite their sleek style and ever increasing higher
performance levels, laptops have never been truly mobile.
With batteries averaging around 3 to 5 hours of usable
power, most laptops are limited in the amount of time
they can spent away from the warm electrical embrace
of a wall plug-in.
As most laptop owners will attest, running out of power when
you're sending that all important business email or watching
your favorite movie has always registered high on the annoyance
meter. In today's lingo - it sucks big time!
Sure, things are improving, as new technology come on
stream (dual-core processors, hyper-threading) users are
getting longer battery life from their laptops.
But even as laptops become smaller and more efficient,
short battery life is still a limiting factor for most
laptops.
Fully loaded power sapping gaming laptops have been hardest
hit by this problem. Try playing a game or watching a movie
on battery power at your favorite beach for any extended time
and you will see why laptop batteries are in dire need of an
overhaul.
Laptop manufacturers are no doubt aware of this issue and
may be relieved help is on the way. Actually, the solution
to the power-challenged laptop is already here.
Once more, new technology comes to the rescue.
Short battery life for laptops and for all handheld electronic
devices will probably be solved by two new energy sources:
micro fuel cells and printable solar cells.
Micro fuel cells can use such fuels as alcohol or methanol
and offers ten times the power of conventional batteries
using only 1/20th the weight. Perfectly suited for laptops
or notebook computers. It actually burns fuel which can
be quickly replenished by merely refilling its reservoir
or replacing a fresh fuel cartridge. As everyone knows,
recharging a conventional cell battery takes hours, this
new battery will only take seconds to recharge or rather
refuel.
One of the major leaders in this new technology is MTI with
its Micro's Mobion® cord-free power pack which will probably
replace lithium ion batteries. These use direct methanol
fuel cells (DMFC). Expect these creatures to be in almost
22% of all of handheld devices by 2011. And if these new
micro fuel cells are embraced by the buying public; you
can kiss your lithium ion battery goodbye long before
that date!
Read more info on Micro Fuel Cells here:
http://www.mtimicrofuelcells.com
Even more promising is printable solar cells that folds
out or can be wrapped around or built into a laptop, giving
them a renewable energy source and power. One of the
leaders in this new technology is Konarka. They produce
a flexible lightweight photovoltaic plastic material
that will give any device solar energy.
As sunlight is not always available, Konarka technology
uses all types of light, including indoor light, to produce
electrical energy. These inexpensive printable solar cells
could have many applications, including a source of
power for laptops. Cheap, renewable and plentiful.
Read more on Photovoltaic Solar Cells here:
http://www.konarka.com
What we will probably see in the future is a hybrid of the
two technologies, micro fuel cells and photovoltaic solar
cells, working in tangent to give laptops an energy source
that never runs out. Unlimited power available anywhere,
anytime.
Micro fuel cells and printable solar cells will give laptops
the freedom and power they need to be used anytime, anywhere.
These new energy sources will finally make the laptop truly
portable. It will also make the Internet truly wireless, mobile,
and available everywhere.
Perish the thought!