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阅读：印在纸上的电池
2001-12-17 09:07:00
While batteries that power electronic devices are getting smaller and more powerful, the latest development in portable power is literally a new twist.
Power Paper Ltd., a tiny company based in Tel Aviv, Israel, has developed a battery that can be printed directly onto paper, plastic or other flexible material.
Secret Sauce
The Power Paper battery produces electrical energy much like ordinary alkaline batteries. Two electrodes, or terminals, separate an electrolyte — a chemical compound that generates negative ions. Connecting the battery's two terminals — say, with a light bulb or a motor — completes the circuit, allowing the electricity to flow and power whatever is attached.
The chemicals used in Power Paper's battery are a combination of zinc and manganese dioxide — well-known elements used in other conventional batteries. But, Baruch Levanon, chief executive officer and co-founder of the company, says that the exact mix of chemicals is what makes the Power Paper battery unique.
Levanon says the company's proprietary chemical combination — so secretive that he calls them the "Coca-Cola formulas" — results in battery materials that are like printer's ink. And unlike conventional battery electrolytes, the Power Paper creation is environmentally safe and doesn't require a hard metal case typical in ordinary dry-cell batteries.
The Skinny on Capabilities
What's more, the ink-like material can be used in printing presses, allowing for really flexible batteries says Levanon. Using standard printing methods, the Power Paper material can be layered onto paper or any other flexible material. The resulting battery is about half a millimeter thick — the same thickness as the paper used to make milk cartons.
Levanon says the company has produced thin batteries that can generate about 1.5 volts — similar to most conventional batteries. But since the battery is fairly thin, how long it lasts is proportional to its area. To produce as much power as a standard AA-sized battery, for instance, would require a Power Paper battery of about a square foot in size.
"We can get quite substantial capacities," says Levanon. "But we're designed for medium- to low-energy requirements."
Smarter Luggage Tags
Rather than powering cell phones or laptops soon, Levanon imagines a whole host of other applications.
Power Paper batteries can be used in so-called smart cards — plastic cards that contain microprocessor chips. Current smart cards require a separate bulky card reader to display the information stored on the cards' chips. But with a flexible battery, smart-card makers could soon include a tiny display screen on the card itself that would allow users easy access to that account data.
Power Paper even envisions that its flexible battery designs can be used to help secure airports and passengers. Luggage tags and airline tickets could be printed with tiny radio antennas and circuitry — powered by the company's battery — to contain passenger data. Checkpoints equipped with radio receivers would then be able to track passengers and baggage as they move through the airport.
Sweet Music Soon?
But for that to happen, Power Paper is working with printing partners to further develop the technology and iron out costs.
For now, the company estimates that producing a Power Paper battery costs around 15 cents per square inch. But Levanon says that costs could come down as larger, more established printing and publishing companies begin to implement the technology.
In the meantime, Power Paper is using its own subsidiary in Hong Kong called Thinergy Ltd., to provide some paper-based products using the company's thin battery design. For example, Levanon says that by the beginning of next year, it wouldn't be surprising to see musical greeting cards powered by a Thinergy-produced battery.  推荐给好友  打印本页
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