06/11/2015
Have a look here a for a second…….What do you think this is?
This is an Ultracapacitor or Supercapacitor, flexible and transparent.
Ultracapacitors, also called a supercapacitors, are energy storage devices capable of holding hundreds of times more electrical charge quantity than a standard capacitor. This characteristic makes ultracapacitors useful in devices that require relatively little current and low voltage. In some situations, an ultracapacitor can take the place of a rechargeable low-voltage battery.
Supercapacitors, can usually hold one tenth of the electricity per unit of volume or weight as compared to batteries but can achieve much higher power densities, meaning that the can be charged and discharged extremely quickly (within fraction of seconds).
An excellent example of the use of an ultracapacitor can be found in so-called electrical smart meters. These devices, unlike their electromechanical counterparts, store information about home and business electrical power and energy consumption, and contain no moving parts. In the event of a power failure, an ultracapacitor allows the meter to send a final status communication to the utility company, preventing data loss and the confusion that could result. While a rechargeable backup battery can serve the same purpose, most electrochemical batteries fail at extremely low temperatures, such as commonly occur in the winter in much of the United States and virtually all of Canada. Ultracapacitors keep working at temperatures far below freezing.
The current generation of supercapacitors finds applications in various markets, including consumer (digital cameras, portable computers, GPS, hand-held devices, toys, etc), traction (diesel engine starting, security doors opening, voltage drop compensation, etc), automotive (power steering, valve controls, starter generators, regenerative braking, hybrid electric drive, active seat belt restraints, etc.), industrial (uninterrupted power supply, wind turbine pitch systems, power transient buffering, elevator micro-controller power backup, security doors, forklifts, cranes, and telecommunications) and aerospace (to power emergency actuation systems for doors and evacuation slides in airliners.
