MIT Creates New Energy Source

artist's rendition of a carbon nanotube

This is some pretty exciting news. It seems that researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), one of the most prestigious science and engineering schools in the United States, has created a new energy source -- and it's clean and renewable. The odd thing is that the only way you can see this energy source is with a very powerful microscope, because it is created by using nanotechnology.

For a few years now, we have been hearing about the possibilities offered by the new field of nanotechnology. Now it looks like the first usable breakthrough has been accomplished. MIT has devised a process to generate electricity using nanotechnology. And this new process may soon revolutionize batteries for all kind of devices.

The researchers built tiny wires out of carbon nanotubes. Then they coated these wires with a fuel and discovered it generated electricity -- a lot of electricity considering its tiny size. They believe they will be able to use this technology to create batteries at least 10 times smaller than current batteries, but produce the same amount of electricity.

The nanotechnology batteries will have a couple of other advantages over current batteries. First, they will not lose power while sitting and not being used (as you probably know, current batteries can lose their charge even if they are not being used). This will result in a huge energy savings.

Second, these batteries are non-toxic since they are made of carbon. Current batteries are made from very toxic heavy metals like lead, nickel and cadmium, and must be disposed of very carefully. The carbon nanotechnology batteries can simply be burned and produce no toxic fumes or waste.

Computers, cell phones and other electronic devices will be the first to benefit from the nanotechnology batteries. This is a marvelous breakthrough, and I hope it's not too long before the new nano-batteries hit the market.