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"Discovery Files" Features from the National Science Foundation
"Paper Power"
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96 kbps
(90 seconds)
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READER SCRIPT
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WORKS GOOD ON PAPER... THE "DISCOVERY FILES": NEW ADVANCES IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING, FROM THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION. SO, SOMEBODY HANDS YOU A SHEET OF PAPER ABOUT A NEW KIND OF BATTERY--AND IT TURNS OUT THAT THE SHEET IS THE BATTERY! WELL, NOT REALLY. BUT, RESEARCHERS AT RENSSELAER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE HAVE COME UP WITH A SHEET OF PAPER THAT IS AN EFFECTIVE ENERGY-STORAGE DEVICE. IT ALL STARTS WITH A CELLULOSE-BASED, PAPER-LIKE MATERIAL THAT IS INFUSED WITH TINY CARBON NANO-TUBES--ALL LINED UP TO DO THEIR PART, TO CONDUCT ELECTRICITY. THE SHEET IS SOAKED IN ELECTROLYTES--AND WHEN THE PROCESS IS COMPLETE, THE PAPER AND ALL COMPONENTS ARE ACTUALLY ONE ENTITY--MOLECULARLY FUSED, INTO ONE SINGLE LIGHTWEIGHT, THIN, FLEXIBLE BATTERY THAT LOOKS AND FEELS LIKE A PIECE OF PAPER. IT CAN BE HEATED TO 300 DEGREES, OR CHILLED TO 100 BELOW--AND STILL WORK JUST FINE. THE BATTERIES ARE NON-TOXIC, AND ENVIRONMENTALLY SAFE; YOU CAN STACK THEM, PACK THEM, SHAPE THEM, BEND THEM, FOLD THEM, OR MUTILATE THEM--UP TO A POINT. PAPER POWER SOURCES OPEN UP "REAMS" OF POSSIBILITIES--FROM BIOMEDICINE TO MANUFACTURING. SO NOW, WE HAVE "PAPER POWER"; IN THE FUTURE, WE MAY NOT MAKE BATTERIES, WE MIGHT PRINT THEM. HAVE THEY FILED FOR A PATENT ON THIS? YES--AND THEY HAVE ALL THE NECESSARY "PAPERS". THE "DISCOVERY FILES" COVERS PROJECTS FUNDED BY THE GOVERNMENT'S NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION: FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH BROUGHT TO YOU BY YOU! LEARN MORE AT "N-S-F"-DOT-GOV--OR ON THEIR PODCAST.
For additional "Discovery Files" features from the National Science Foundation, click here.
