Colin Jeffrey — Gizmag
We literally live in a wired world, with wires snaking hither and yon transmitting electricity and data. Many are visible, while many more are hidden in the walls of buildings, the panels of cars, and the fuselage of aircraft. Now, imagine; what if we were able to turn each and every one of these into a battery that not only transmitted electricity but stored it too? Well, two researchers from the University of Central Florida (UCF) imagined that too, and came up with a way to use nano-technology to make wires with supercapacitance that may eventually also double as batteries.
Professor Jayan Thomas and his Ph.D. student Zenan Yu premised their design on their ability to grow “nanowhiskers” of copper oxide in a laboratory that would provide the conductive link between between the inner and outer layers of their supercapacitor wire.