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Arts & Culture

NOVA: Search For The Super Battery

Host David Pogue and scientist Theo Gray. In his hand, Pogue holds lithium metal, the lightweight, highly reactive element that can both power batteries and make them exceptionally dangerous.
Courtesy of Cara Feinberg / WGBH
Host David Pogue and scientist Theo Gray. In his hand, Pogue holds lithium metal, the lightweight, highly reactive element that can both power batteries and make them exceptionally dangerous.

Airs Wednesday, May 2, 2018 at 10 p.m. on KPBS TV + Sunday, May 6 at 10 p.m. on KPBS 2

Cutting edge researchers hunt for a super battery that can power tomorrow’s high tech world.

We live in an age when technological innovation seems to be limitlessly soaring. But for all the satisfying speed with which our gadgets have improved, many of them share a frustrating weakness: the batteries.

Even though there have been some improvements in last century, batteries remain finicky, bulky, expensive, toxic and maddeningly short-lived.

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Lithium, one of most reactive elements, is a coveted ingredient of batteries. It also reacts easily when exposed to water and air.
Courtesy of Cara Feinberg / WGBH
Lithium, one of most reactive elements, is a coveted ingredient of batteries. It also reacts easily when exposed to water and air.

The quest is on for a “super battery,” and the stakes in this hunt are much higher than the phone in your pocket. With climate change looming, electric cars and renewable energy sources like wind and solar power could hold keys to a greener future... if we can engineer the perfect battery.

Lithium is one of the lightest and most energetic elements. It is also one of the most reactive. When exposed to water, it can burst into flame as seen here.
Courtesy of Nick Mann / WGBH
Lithium is one of the lightest and most energetic elements. It is also one of the most reactive. When exposed to water, it can burst into flame as seen here.

In “Search For The Super Battery,” renowned gadget geek and host David Pogue explores the hidden world of energy storage, from the power — and danger — of the lithium-ion batteries we use today, to the bold innovations that could one day charge our world.

He wants to uncover what the future of batteries has in store for our gadgets, our lives – and even our planet. Might the lowly battery be the breakthrough technology that changes everything?

This Rube-Goldberg-like machine at the University of Michigan Energy Institute fabricates lithium ion batteries.
Courtesy of Julie Crawford / WGBH
This Rube-Goldberg-like machine at the University of Michigan Energy Institute fabricates lithium ion batteries.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION:

NOVA is on Facebook, and you can follow @novapbs on Twitter. Follow @Pogue on Twitter. #NOVAnext

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