# Battery Life Gamechanger? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 17, 2011, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battery-life-gamechanger/603250 "2011-11-17T18:34:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battery-life-gamechanger/603250/1 "2011-11-17T18:34:14Z")
> **[Engineers boost battery strength with small holes](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-15735478)** > > Making millions of tiny holes in lithium ion batteries can boost the speed at which they recharge, find US researchers. ---
**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battery-life-gamechanger/603250/2 "2011-11-17T18:56:41Z")
Interesting, but someone needs to check their math: > [@](#): > > …would charge from flat in 15 minutes and last a week before needing a recharge. > [@](#): > > The downside is that the recharging and power gains fall off sharply after a battery has been charged about 150 times. > > "Even after 150 charges, which would be one year or more of operation…said lead scientist Prof Harold Kung 150 charges is closer to three years, which is probably long than most people keep a single phone these days. ---
**Author:** ![Baracus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/2bfe46/32.png) [@Baracus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baracus)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battery-life-gamechanger/603250/3 "2011-11-17T19:11:32Z")
Key sentence from the article: > [@](#): > > Batteries built using the novel technique could be in the shops within five years, estimate the scientists. This is scientist speak for “It works in the lab but hell if we know whether a viable commercial product can be made from it or not. We need another five years of grant money to figure that out.” ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battery-life-gamechanger/603250/4 "2011-11-17T21:36:57Z")
pancakes3, please remember in the future to give us a little bit of information in your OPs. What is it? What’s it for? What do you think of it. Like that. Ellen ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2011, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battery-life-gamechanger/603250/5 "2011-11-18T16:55:03Z")
Everything is 5 years away. It never happens. That’s why I canceled my subscription to Discover magazine. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2011, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/battery-life-gamechanger/603250/6 "2011-11-18T17:08:34Z")
> [@control-z](#): > > Everything is 5 years away. It never happens. Yeah, a few years ago I read that “within five years” we’ll be able to clone new teeth from stem cells in a person’s wisdom teeth, if that person hasn’t had them removed yet. I’d sure like to have that come to pass (still have my own wisdom teeth!) but I’m not holding my breath.