Source: inhabitat.com
Published: May 20, 2013
It’s hard enough being tied to your cell phone without having to worry about getting the “Low Battery Icon of Death” right in the middle of an important task – and charging up via wall outlets takes forever. Eesha Khare of Saratoga, California has invented a device that could wipe away battery bothers with a supercapacitor that can charge your phone in 20 seconds. Her research won her a $50,000 prize in the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair.
Focusing on her interests in nanochemistry, Khare created a supercapacitor storage device that holds a lot of energy in a small amount of space and can fit inside cell phone batteries. The gadget has the ability to completely charge a phone in 20 to 30 seconds. It is able to last for 100,000 charge cycles as compared to 1,000 for conventional batteries. She has already used the supercapacitor to power a LED light, but envisions it being incorporated into phones and other mobile electronics. Also flexible, it can be used in rolled displays or added to clothing and fabric.
Her work earned her the Young Scientist Award this Friday at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Phoenix, Arizona. She was selected out of 1,600 young scientists. She plans on using the money to pay for college and furthering her research.