http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=8152 Toshiba makes fuel cell breakthrough for notebook PCs Ten hours with 100cc of the finest whine By Mike Magee: Thursday 06 March 2003, 09:37 JAPANESE FIRM Toshiba said it has successfully created a direct methanol fuel cell for notebook PCs. The breakthrough prototype will deliver an average output of 12 watts and a maximum outout of 20 watts, and one fuel catridge will last for five hours. The methanol cartridges will be replaceable. The firm will show off the fuel cell at next week's CeBIT show in Hannover, it said. The firm claims it's managed to thoroughly miniaturise the fuel cell. Methanol in a fuel cell, said Toshiba, works best when mixed with water in a three to six per cent concentration, but this makes a fuel tank which is far too big. So Toshiba invented a system that lets a higher concentration of methanol be diluted by the water produced as a by-product of power generation. Further, Toshiba said it has invented interfaces and electronics which will control the power supply, sensors to monitor the concentration, and a sensor telling consumers when to get another cartridge out of the wine cellar. The components, air transmission pumps and liquid pumps are controlled by a tiny DC-DC converter. The fuel cell will have the same electrodes as with lithium-ion batteries, so the cartridges connect to a notebook in the same way as those do. Full product will be available next year. The fuel cells will weigh 900 grams, and deliver 10 hours of operation using 100cc of high concentration methanol fuel. The cartridges will weigh 120 grams for the 100cc unit and 70 grams for the 50cc unit. µ * PLEASE NOTE Do not attempt to drink the content of these cartridges. Methanol is very toxic and may make you blind. The alcohol in wine is ethanol - the "m" makes all the difference. See Also [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Biofuels list archives: http://archive.nnytech.net/ Please do NOT send Unsubscribe messages to the list address. To unsubscribe, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
