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Electric Paper Coming Soon!
Imagine your MP3 player needing nothing to run but a piece of paper the size of a postage stamp! Researchers say that the paper batteries are more flexible and energy-efficient than traditional batteries. Paper batteries can be folded, bent, or cut just like regular paper. They can also be stacked to increase their power. Someday, sheets of paper batteries could provide enough of a jolt to run a car!
How do they work? Traditional batteries use metal to produce electricity. Paper batteries use super-tiny tubes of carbon instead. "The carbon nanotube print is embedded in the paper and the electrolyte is soaked into the paper," explains one of the research scientists. "The end result," he says, "is a device that looks, feels, and weighs the same as paper."
The paper battery is super small and lightweight. But it has other advantages over regular batteries. It can withstand extreme temperatures from a chilling 100 degrees below zero to a white-hot 300 degrees Fahrenheit. The paper battery's nontoxic ingredients mean it will be less harmful to the environment and could be used in medical devices. And, the price is right. Paper batteries are cheap to produce. Ultimately the researchers say they hope to print them out on a large scale -- rolling out reams of batteries just like newspapers.
I'm Adelbert and that's what happened in Science this week!
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