Does the McCain campaign owe Stanford University $300 million dollars? :-)

Will the McCain campaign pay Stanford University $300 million dollars -- for inventing a better hybrid car battery? :-)

Readers of December's Popular Mechanics know that Stanford University scientists have already engineered a lithium ion enhancement that promises to multiply charge capacity ability about four times in the short term and as much as ten times in the long term.

For 30 years it has been known that building lithium ion batteries with silicon wires (instead of carbon wires) could yield ten times the power holding ability but, because silicon wires expanded and contracted too much as they cycled, they quickly destroyed themselves. The development of nano wires – about a thousandth of the width of a sheet of paper -- has solved that drawback -- while potentially making lithium ion batteries more stable (safer) at the same time!

Near term, only the anode side of the batteries will be manufactured with nano wires, yielding the quadruple jump (up powering GM’s Volt to go 160 miles on one charge instead of 40?). Long term, manufacturing the cathode side with silicon nano wires is expected to reach the ten multiple target (introducing hybrid, long distant trucks?).

Maybe someone should donate a Popular Mechanics subscription to the McCain campaign -- could save the Treasury $300 million dollars. :-)

http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/research/4237756.html

http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2008/january9/nanowire-010908.html