Given with the name STAIR (St Andrews Air), the revolutionary battery is paving way for the next-generation electronic devices including cell phones, laptops and electric cars. The STAIR cell will have a new component that uses oxygen drawn from the air during discharge to replace a chemical constituent used in today's rechargeable batteries. The oxygen drawn will then react with internal carbon as a re-agent to create more energy, which can also be stored for a longer period of time. Scientists revealed that their target is to get at least 5- to 10-fold increase in storage capacity.
Carrying fewer chemicals in the battery, the STAIR cell is likely to come in a smaller size and be lighter, compare to the conventional batteries. The cost will probably go down as well, since the new component is made of porous carbon, which is much cheaper than the chemical constituent it replaces.
The scientists noted that it would take at least five years for the STAIR cell to become commercially available. So before that, you may try the extended batteries, which stores larger amount of energy. However, you probably have to sacrifice the weight for the increased capacity, as extended batteries are usually heavier than the standard ones.
Another option will be bringing a spare battery with you, so you can stay connected without worrying about your cell phone running out of battery. It is not a must to buy original batteries; many of today's generic ones are of good quality and offers satisfactory talk and standby times, yet at lower prices.
Just give these options a try before you are able to run your battery on air!
