Originally posted by Aristotle
If batteries were improving like other technology (following Moore's Law as a minimum, a doubling every 24 months), then they should be 32 times more powerful than they were 8 years ago.
As far as I understand batteries still use the principle of reactions in a "solution" between an anode and a cathode. Car batteries being the most common example of them.

Whilst technology and miniaturisation allow you to shrink everything else, I think you hit a wall when you still need X amount of solution to give battery sufficient life.

Different flavours NiMH / NiCad etc and other advances have made improvements on battery life, battery memory etc.. but you still need a certain amount of material to react.... I think that is where the stumbling block has been in making them any smaller.

This new gizmo looks cool..and even if it revolutionises WHERE batteries can fit it will make a big difference.(location/weight distribution). but the article doesn't really say how much power you can draw out of it. You can run a small fan... but will it stop after 30 secs, 5 minutes, an hour? How does performance drop off? Linear decline (crappy), or steady power for longer and then nothing (better).

I'd be interested in seeing stats battery power/life now if packaged in a battery of the same size as say 10 years ago (think of your mobile phone), not to mention comparitive power consumption of equivalent devices (are we squeezing more from less).

Of course... too lazy to google for it myself.