Carbon nanotube springs could herald a new era of energy storage
EcoFriend
Researchersat MIT have suggested that carbon nanotubes, if used as springs couldstore energy in a more durable and reliable way that any other storagesystem available on the market today.
Sincethe system would store energy in a spring, it won’t lose any chargeover time and could potentially be used endlessly to store energy,without any loss in performance. The nanotube springs could store about1000 times the energy of steel springs, and offer an energy-densitycomparable to the best lithium-ion batteries.
Whileconventional batteries need to be recharged frequently to ensure thatthey have full power when the need arises, the carbon nanotube springscan be used to store energy for a longer period of time without theneed of a recharge.
Moreover, since the springs will belightweight, they won’t add much weight to the system, which eventuallywill enhance their performance. Unlike lithium ion batteries also needspecific conditions to work, the carbon nanotube springs aren’tdependent on the environmental conditions as well.
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