Technical English Episode 9 Batteries That Last Forever Could Be Near

Batteries That Last Forever Could Be Near Before reading the text For batteries lasting forever is possible Battery capacity depends only its size Nanotechnology can not be applied to batteries Can be made of any metal Batteries are very powerful electric sources _True_ False No idea ______ _______ ________

Batteries That Last Forever Could Be Near Nanowires

Batteries That Last Forever Could Be Near 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 spoke with Thai about her discovery. Thai said she had been frustrated that the batteries for her wireless devices degrade. Over time, they fail to charge fully. Thai did not like to have keep her wireless laptop connected to an electrical outlet. She decided 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.

Batteries That Last Forever Could Be Near 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 evidence nanowires showed no of damage. 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 publicity about her discovery. She said she never expected her research to get media coverage. "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 to Learn USEFUL EXPRESSIONS Underline the words you do not know. forever charge electrical outlet invention degrade nanowires gel damage coating USEFUL EXPRESSIONS fail to charge keep connected hold a charge lose capacity show interest make weak

forever : /fərˈevə $ -ər/ Definition: for all future time Sample sentence: God's love continue forever. I'd like to stay here forever. I'll remember you forever.

forever : /fərˈevə $ -ər/

outlet : /ˈaʊtlet, -lɪt/ Definition: a place on a wall where you can connect electrical equipment to the supply of electricity (American English) a pipe or hole through which something such as a liquid or gas can flow out Sample sentence: Electrical outlet

outlet : /ˈaʊtlet, -lɪt/

invention : /ɪnˈvenʃən/ Definition: The ability to think of new and clever ideas Sample sentence: the invention of the wheel

invention : /ɪnˈvenʃən/ Definition: The ability to think of new and clever ideas Sample sentence: the invention of the wheel

degrade Definition: to make a situation or the condition of something worse if a substance, chemical etc degrades, or if something degrades it, it changes to a simpler form Sample sentence: The dolphin’s habitat is being rapidly degraded.

nanowire Definition: A wire in the size of nanometer : 10-9m Sample sentence: Nanowire battery

Coating : /ˈkəʊtɪŋ $ ˈkoʊ-/ Definition: a thin layer of something that covers a surface Sample sentence: ice-cream with a thick coating of choclate

Answer the Questions : 1- What are the advantages of having nanowires inside the battery? 2- What are the disadvantages of having nanowires inside battery?

TEXT ANALYZING Listen and repeat exercises. Reading laudly. Understand the text -- Underline the verbs (Use pink colour) -- Circle plural words (Use blue color) -- Underline two times the words you do not know. -- Highlight good expressions. (Use brown color)

Assignment - Assessment Learn all vocabulary. Listen to the text 10 times while reading, and listen to the same text 10 times without reading. Then record your voice while reading. Undersand the text deeply (TEXT ANALYZING) Write the text on the right of your notebook, then analyze it on the left... .. verbs, tense, plural nouns, - my favourite sentence, good expressions, words to learn 6. Summarize the text

ASSIGNMENT Make a sentence with the given expressions have a life span charging cycles to get media coverage