Speaker A
From VOA Learning English, this is the Technology Report.
Scientist Mya Le Thai discovers a method to extend battery life using PMMA-covered nanowires, potentially enabling batteries to last forever.
Key Takeaways
- Nanowires in lithium-ion batteries are fragile and limit battery lifespan.
- Covering nanowires with PMMA significantly increases their durability and charge cycle life.
- PMMA-covered nanowires lasted 28 times longer and showed no damage after extensive testing.
- This innovation could lead to batteries that last indefinitely.
- VOA Learning English continues to support learning despite ending this specific series.
Summary
- Mya Le Thai, a scientist at UC Irvine, discovered a process that could make batteries last indefinitely.
- Current lithium-ion batteries lose charging capacity over time due to fragile nanowires.
- Nanowires are extremely thin, about a thousand times thinner than a human hair, making them prone to breaking.
- Nanowires are effective electricity carriers but their fragility limits battery lifespan.
- Thai hypothesized that covering nanowires might increase their durability.
- Her team experimented with various coverings and found success with PMMA, a hard, clear plastic.
- Nanowires covered with PMMA lasted 28 times longer than uncovered ones during charge cycles.
- PMMA-covered nanowires showed no damage after 200,000 charge cycles.
- This discovery suggests batteries with covered nanowires could potentially last forever.
- VOA Learning English will continue providing educational content despite ending this Technology Report series.
Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown
Speaker A
Mya Le Thai is a scientist at the University of California, Irvine. She recently discovered a process that could result in batteries lasting forever.
Speaker A
Thai spoke with VOA Learning English about her discovery.
Speaker A
She said she was not happy with the lithium-ion batteries in her wireless devices.
Speaker A
She said that, over time, they lose their ability to fully charge.
Speaker A
She said this is because the batteries use nanowires.
Speaker A
The small wires are extremely thin. A human hair is a thousand times thicker than a nanowire, for example.
Speaker A
As a result, nanowires break easily, but they are also effective carriers of electricity.
Speaker A
Thai had a theory: nanowires might last longer if covered.
Speaker A
She and her team at Irvine experimented with many coverings.
Speaker A
They found success with PMMA, a hard, clear plastic material.
Speaker A
The nanowires covered with PMMA cycled through charges 28 times more than uncovered nanowires.
Speaker A
The PMMA covered wires showed no evidence of damage after 200,000 cycles.
Speaker A
The results suggest that batteries with covered nanowires might last forever.
Speaker A
For VOA Learning English, this is the last Technology Report for Learning English TV.
Speaker A
But, we are not going away. We will continue to bring you videos to help you learn American English.
Speaker A
Go to LearningEnglish.voanews.com to find new materials and to look for past Learning English TV reports.
Speaker A
I'm Carolyn Presutti.
Speaker A
Thank you for watching and learning with VOA Learning English.
Topics:batteriesnanowiresPMMAbattery lifelithium-ion batteriesMya Le ThaiUniversity of California Irvinebattery technologyVOA Learning Englishtechnology report
