To: Phil Jones who wrote (9221 ) 3/22/1998 12:33:00 PM From: Phil Jones Read Replies (2) | Respond to
Here's the complete text of the article I snipped from the Ottawa Citizen a few weeks back on Bob Hockaday. (P) represents a new paragraph. It was only a small article in the corner of a page. The Ottawa Citizen is owned by Conrad Black and many articles are reprints from the London Telegraph, where I suspect this article came from. I'm typing it in, since I can't scan it. The title is "Using alcohol to fuel your laptop". (P) LONDON - An American scientist has discovered a way to power mobile phones and other electronic gadgets using only alcohol and air.
(P) Using technology harnessed for powering the space shuttle, the miniature fuel cells invented by Bob Hockaday, a former U.S. Department of Energy scientist, weigh half as much as the nickel-cadmium batteries used in cell phones and laptop computers, yet provide power for up to 50 times longer.
(P) The product of 10 years' research in a cramped basement at home is expected to revolutionize portable electronic devices.
(P) Fuel cells are seen as the clean power source for the next century. Instead of burning fuel to produce energy, they use chemical methods to extract the fuel's energy, but until now have been bulky and too expensive for anything other than experimental or space-travel use.
(P) Mr. Hockaday has signed a $1-million deal with a U.S. company that should see his invention in use by next year. Manufacture will be relatively simple: The fuel cell elements can be printed by the millions on a single sheet of plastic.
(P) The fuel cells are stacked together to produce the four watts necessary to power a cell phone.
(P) To charge the micro fuel cell, users pour in 1.5 ounces of inexpensive methanol, instead of waiting a day while a battery recharges. The micro fuel cells should last at least 20 years.
