VOA慢速英语--科学家研发可永久循环使用电池

Batteries That Last Forever Could Be Near 科学家研发可永久循环使用电池

We all have daily problems with technology, but how many of us can fix them?

Mya Le Thai is a scientist studying at the University of California, Irvine. She recently discovered a process that may result in batteries that last forever. VOA Learning English spoke¹ with Thai about her discovery.

Thai said she had been frustrated² that the batteries for her wireless³ devices degrade. Over time, they fail to charge fully⁴.

Thai did not like to have keep her wireless laptop connected to an electrical outlet⁵.

She decided⁶ to do something about that problem.

At first, she and her team at UC Irvine thought about inventing a new battery. But as they experimented, Thai discovered something that might permit lithium-ion batteries to last forever.

Lithium-ion batteries power most wireless devices. Over time, the batteries lose the ability to hold a charge. Most of these batteries have a life span of about 7,000 charging cycles before they die.

One of the reasons lithium-ion batteries degrade is their use of nanowires to carry electricity. Nanowires are extremely thin. A human hair is thousands of times thicker, for example.

Nanowires are extremely efficient carriers of electricity, which makes them useful in batteries. But Thai said their thinness also makes them weak.

"Nanowires break and fracture over time," she said. "That's why they lose capacity."

But, Thai had a theory: The nanowires might last longer if covered with a gel. She and the team tested her theory.

"It was a long process and a lot of work," Thai said.

The team tried many coverings for the wires. PMMA was one of them.

The nanowires were coated with PMMA and cycled through charges 200,000 times. The PMMA coated nanowires showed no evidence of damage.

The results suggest that batteries could last forever, without losing charging ability. Thai said 200,000 cycles amount to about three months on just one device.

Thai hopes to continue her research to understand why this gel works so well and to see if any other gel could create better results.

Mya Le Thai told VOA she is enjoying the publicity⁷ about her discovery. She said she never expected her research to get media coverage⁸.

"It's kind of cool," she said. "I'm really glad people are showing interest in my work and not just in the work itself, but also in technology and energy."

Words in This Story

battery - n. a device that is placed inside a machine (such as a clock, toy, or car) to supply it with electricity

frustrated - adj. very angry, discouraged, or upset because of being unable to do or complete something?

degrade - v. to make the quality of (something) worse

outlet  - n. a device in a wall into which an electric cord can be plugged in order to provide electricity for a lamp, television, etc?

lithium-ion battery- n. a rechargeable battery often used to power electronics

gel  - n. a thick substance that is like jelly and that is used in various products?

1 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

2 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 wireless   

adj.无线的；n.无线电

参考例句：

• There are a lot of wireless links in a radio.收音机里有许多无线电线路。
• Wireless messages tell us that the ship was sinking.无线电报告知我们那艘船正在下沉。

4 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

5 outlet   

n.出口/路；销路；批发商店；通风口；发泄

参考例句：

• The outlet of a water pipe was blocked.水管的出水口堵住了。
• Running is a good outlet for his energy.跑步是他发泄过剩精力的好方法。

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 publicity   

n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告

参考例句：

• The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。
• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。

8 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。