Re: Scientists Use Viruses to Build High-Energy Batteries

On Sat, 08 Apr 2006 22:44:22 GMT, jimstevens <jimstevens@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

On 8 Apr 2006 07:44:29 -0700, "Golden State Poppy"
<GoldenStatePoppy@xxxxxxx> wrote:

Apr 07, 2006
Scientists Build High-Energy Batteries Using Viruses
APR 07, 2006 07:27:54 AM

Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the
United States have figured out a way to use viruses to build ultrathin
lithium-ion batteries that pack three times the normal energy level for
their weight and size, they said this week.

By manipulating genes inside the viruses, the scientists coaxed them
into coating themselves with cobalt oxide molecules and gold particles
and then lining themselves up to form tiny wires that serve as the
anode electrode in a battery.

The eight-person team, led by MIT professors Angela Belcher, Paula
Hammond and Yet-Ming Chiang, describe their work in this week's issue
of the journal Science.

Among other applications, the work could contribute to the development
of more useful car batteries, which today are too heavy and weak to
compete effectively with petrol, the scientists said.

Each wire measures six nanometers, or six billionths of a meter, in
diameter and 880 nanometers in length. Once the genes have been
altered, the viruses can be cloned millions of times to form batteries
as small as a grain of rice or as large as a hearing-aid battery, the
team said.

The nanowires can be made at room temperature and pressure, meaning
expensive gear isn't needed to create an artificial environment. But
the work is delicate, with just the right amount of cobalt oxide and
gold needing to be formed exactly where it belongs.

In 2003, Belcher cofounded a company called Cambrios Technologies, in
Mountain View, Calif., which aims to commercialize biological
technologies. Cambrios holds "exclusive license rights to Dr.
Belcher's technology," according to its website.

Sounds like it will take really good eyes and really small whip and
chair!
Thanks for a good laugh!
--
Best,
Frederick Martin McNeill
Poway, California, United States of America
mmcneill@xxxxxxxxxxxx
http://www.fuzzysys.com
http://members.cox.net/fmmcneill
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Phrase of the week :
"Science is the way we surprise God. That's what we're here for. Our moral obligation is to generate possibilities, to discover the infinite ways, however complex and high-dimension, to play the infinite game. It will take all possible species of intelligence in order for the universe to understand itself. Science, in this way, is holy. It is a divine trip."-Kevin Kelly, 2006
"Science is now, as it has always been, an adventure of explanation into the infinite resources of the natural world. What we are searching for is new principles of organization, which is to say knowledge that is trustworthy and dependable, just as human beings have done since they first learned to think. There is no indication at all that the well of important discovery is running dry, or even that it is depleted. I cannot tell you that the search for new principles always succeeds or is not extremely frustrating at times. But I can tell you that the reward of finding one, and of thereby contributing to one of humanity's proudest achievements, is the experience of a lifetime. I hope that one day one of you will have this experience."- R. B. Laughlin 2005
:-))))Snort!)
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