How would you charge your phone? By wall outlet right? Exactly. How do you get that power? From coals or solar or hydro, right? Exactly. With all these different sources of power, we are forgetting one form of power. Battery power. The fact is, that power in the wall charging your phone is actually charging a lithium-ion battery (LIB for short), which is powering your phone. The future of power will rely on these batteries.
What are lithium-ion batteries? Well, they are just regular batteries. A regular old portable power source. But there is a twist... These batteries can be recharged and used over and over again. How does this recharging process work? Well, the lithium ions move from the negative terminal to the positive terminal when giving off power and vice versa when charging. These ions can move to charge and move to discharge. That is what a LIB is.
Now, you may be thinking to yourself, 'These batteries are great, why do single-use batteries still exist?'
Well, LIB's have their ups and downs. Let's start with the pros.
1. Rechargeable = sustainable for your wallet and the environment
2. Can be found at various levels of voltage. This means that it can continually power a tool or object for a prolonged time
3. Very affordable. In New Zealand, a pack of four 1.5v AA batteries cost nine dollars! They would last about two weeks. A single 3.7v LIB costs about twelve dollars, but could last for a couple years!
These are probably the most beneficial advantages to LIB's. Despite having so many conveniences, LIB's have their disadvantages.
1. Subject to aging. LIB's will lose their efficiency over time, even when not in use.
2. Expensive for companies to mass produce. About 40 percent higher in cost than nickel-cadmium based batteries.
3. Inconvenient to charge for some. You just want your toy to work, but you have to wait for the batteries to charge for one hour...
With all these in mind, I would say that there is room for improvement, but in the meantime, worth the while. If you really think about it, our whole world revolves around this power source. Our phones, portable game stations, remote control cars and drones and power banks all utilise this technology. If we could come up with a new way to improve these batteries, like faster charging (already on it), a larger voltage at smaller sizes (already on it) then our future could be more, efficient, happy and recharged!
你会如何为手机充电？通过墙上插座对吗？究竟。你如何获得这种力量？从煤炭或太阳能或水力发电，对吧？究竟。拥有所有这些不同的权力来源，我们忘记了一种形式的权力。电池电量。事实上，为手机充电的墙壁电源实际上正在为锂离子电池（简称LIB）充电，从而为手机供电。电力的未来将依赖于这些电池。
什么是锂离子电池？嗯，它们只是普通电池。常规的旧便携式电源。但是有一个转折......这些电池可以重复充电并一次又一次地使用。这个充电过程如何运作？嗯，锂离子在发出电源时从负端子移动到正端子，反之亦然。这些离子可以移动充电并移动到放电。这就是LIB。
现在，你可能会想，“这些电池很棒，为什么一次性电池仍然存在？”
好吧，LIB有起伏。让我们从专业人士开始。
1.可充电=可持续的钱包和环境
2.可以在各种电压水平下找到。这意味着它可以持续为工具或物体提供长时间的动力
3.非常实惠。在新西兰，一包四节1.5伏AA电池售价9美元！他们会持续两周左右。单个3.7v LIB的成本约为12美元，但可能会持续几年！
这些可能是LIB最有利的优势。尽管有这么多的便利，LIB也有它们的缺点。
1.老化。即使不使用，LIB也会随着时间的推移而失去效率。
2.公司大规模生产昂贵。成本比镍镉电池高出约40％。
3.不方便为某些人收费。你只想让你的玩具工作，但你必须等待电池充电一小时......
考虑到所有这些，我会说有改进的余地，但与此同时，值得一试。如果你真的想到它，我们的整个世界都围绕着这个动力源。我们的手机，便携式游戏机，遥控车，无人机和移动电源都采用这项技术。如果我们能够提出一种改进这些电池的新方法，例如更快的充电（已经在它上面），更小尺寸的电压（已经在它上面），那么我们的未来可以更加高效，快乐和充电！
