Apple's Plans to Make Hydrogen Fuel Cells
Does Steve Jobs' passing mark the end of an era for Apple? Hardly.
Apple is proving that its power, clout and genius lives on in the post-Jobs age.
In a filing with the US Patent and Trademark Office, Apple lays out the foundation for a "FUEL CELL SYSTEM COUPLED TO A PORTABLE COMPUTING DEVICE."
The fact that Apple has a design for a fuel cell isn't newsworthy; fuel cell research has been ongoing for decades. What is exciting is that Apple seems to think they can integrate a portable fuel cell into a mobile computing device.
Imagine your iPad without a charger. Every once in a while, you fill it up with hydrogen The patent application seems to indicate that section 257, "T Cartridge" will be a removeable and replaceable fuel cell cartridge that will allow users to buy replacement fuel cells to plug into their Apple devices.
While Apple's fuel cell won't make it into next year's iPhone 5, it may just be that "quantum leap" that seems to set Apple on a stellar trajectory every few years.
Comments
Wow that's cool. Putting a
Wow that's cool. Putting a tiny fuel cell into a smartphone is the epitome of what it means to have a "fuel cell". A simple, plug and play solution for a clean energy source.
I would like to see some efficiency figures on this, though. Due to scale, usually the smaller devices are less efficient than larger devices. As far as I know, there hasn't been much success with large scale fuel cells. You hear about them once in a while but there aren't many in actual use, and they are very expensive.
Let's hope there aren't
Let's hope there aren't overheating issues when your laptop is running a fuel cell!
Fuel cell power may be a neat
Fuel cell power may be a neat trick for smart phones, but never inside a data center itself.
Let's think about this...what
Let's think about this...what happens if you drop it??? Hydrogen is highly flammable, the slightest spark can ignite it!!!! And like one of the other posters mentioned, better hope it doesn't overheat.
It is a step in a better direction but I am not sure it is totally a good idea. I think the only way it will catch on is because of the gimmicky ads I am sure will follow if it ever gets released...
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