IN LESS THAN TWO YEARS, YOU MIGHT BE ABLE to buy a smartwatch – powered with a radioactive diamond battery – that will outlive you and your progeny for generations.
The potentially game-changing battery comes from the San Francisco-based start-up Nano Diamond Battery (NDB), which lauds its namesake ‘high-power diamond-based alpha, beta, and neutron voltaic battery’ for its ability to give devices ‘life-long and green energy’. Imagine: Just one battery could power your insulin pump or pacemaker for your entire life (with loads of time to spare). Or it could provide the juice for a space rover, collecting Mars regolith samples for decades without any human assistance.
Those are ambitious goals. So, could NDB’s bold claims actually become reality?
First, let’s dissect the specs. To build its Nano Diamond Battery, NDB uses layers of impossibly tiny, panelled nano diamonds (for context, one nanometre is one billionth of a metre). Diamonds have exceptional heat conductance, which makes them ideal for electronic devices. In fact, they are the best-known natural conductor of heat, according to a publication by the University of Houston’s College of Engineering – and are three to four times more effective than copper or silver.
Scientists cultivate these miniature diamonds using chemical vapour deposition, a process in which gases at extremely high temperatures force carbon to crystallise on a substrate material. That process, NDB admits, creates a cost bottleneck; making the special diamonds is energy-intensive and expensive.
この記事は Popular Mechanics South Africa の September/October 2022 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は Popular Mechanics South Africa の September/October 2022 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
Can a retired rocket engine take us to Mars?
The space shuttle's main engine was mothballed with the programme in 2011. Now NASA believes it's the future of interplanetary travel.
6 metre waves. All engines on fire. 1 500 Km from land.
How Flying Tiger 923 and its 'miracle pilot' made an impossible ocean landing.
Land Rover Discovery D300
A FEW MONTHS ago a $2 billion lottery jackpot was won in the United States. It’s fun to sometimes ponder outrageous winnings like that, and how I’d spend it, even if it’s completely detached from reality.
Volkswagen Taigo R-Line 1.0 TSI
The compact proportions make this a delightful daily commuter.
Mazda CX-5 2.2 L De Akera AWD
Floor the pedal and overtaking is achieved easily and safely.
Making the most out of your grinder
THE HUMBLE BENCH GRINDER IS A STAPLE of the handyworker's home shop, largely due to its versatility. But, while you can employ one to remove metal from just about anything, the traditional kind may not provide the precision you need for every grinding operation. Here, we shed light on the best ways to use the different types of grinders, gleaned from our testing.
Unlock your devices' full potential with a USB-C hub
AS NEW TECH SHRINKS EACH YEAR, essential ports such as USB-A, HDMI, and ethernet are being replaced by the slimmer USB-C.
WE BUILT THE WORLD'S FIRST V-8 TESLA
THE RICH REBUILDS TEAM HAD A DEAD MODEL S. THEY FIXED IT WITH A CAMARO ENGINE.
I bought a GHOST TOWN
This abandoned California mining village once had 400 buildings. Now I'm restoring the 20 that remain.
F1 taught me that speed starts with comfort
AS A FAN OF MOTORSPORT, I'M ALWAYS fascinated with the finer details that go into Formula One racing. Piloting the fastest racing cars on the planet subjects drivers to savage forces - up to 6 G's under braking which has led to an almost endless pursuit of comfort.
