Here’s how a lithium-ion battery degrades over time

Use a gadget with a lithium-ion battery inside and you’ll eventually learn that these power packs decay once you’ve cycled them enough times. But have you ever wanted to see direct evidence of why they have a limited lifespan? The Department of Energy is happy to oblige. It developed a special device that, when placed inside an electron microscope, lets it take nanoscale pictures of lithium-ion cells as they drain and charge. As you can see above, lithium (the black fluff in these photos) temporarily deposits on electrodes during each cycle, but doesn’t completely dissolve. The more you use a battery, the more permanent deposits you get and the less capacity you have.

The extreme close-ups aren’t just for show. Researchers want to use this nano-sized microscopy to determine whether or not new battery technology works as planned — they can experiment with new electrodes and electrolytes to see what lasts longer or runs safely. If your next phone lasts a year or two longer before its energy source conks out, you’ll know who to thank.

Filed under: Science

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Via: Phys.org, Gizmodo

Source: Nano Letters

China’s tech giants are getting into the autonomous car business

Google and Tesla are squaring off against each other for the future of self-driving cars, so it’s no surprise to see China’s tech giants follow suit. Both Tencent and Baidu have announced that they’ll be getting into the autonomous vehicle game in the last 24 hours. Tencent is teaming up with iPhone assembler Foxconn, as well as a local luxury car outfit, to create “smart vehicles.”

Foxconn’s ambitions in the space have been known since last year, when CEO Terry Gou admitted that he wanted to get into the transportation business. Crucially, the partnership is looking to produce a low-cost car that’ll meet the wallets of China’s burgeoning middle class that’ll be priced no higher than $15,000.

There’s less information available concerning Baidu’s competing product. At a science and technology conference yesterday, CEO Robin Li told the audience that his company’s first self-driving car would launch later in 2015. Rather than pair off with a gadget manufacturer like its rival, Baidu will team up with an as-yet unnamed car maker in the area. It looks like either group will have a better shot at winning Chinese hearts and minds than Tesla — which has only managed to sell 2,500 units since entering the country last year.

Filed under: Transportation

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Via: PC World

Source: Tencent, Sina Tech (Translated)

Last chance for 3-year Anonymizer VPN, $55

There are plenty of reasons for one to want to keep their internet connection private. It’s possible that you have a dose of distrust for your government and want to ensure your sense of privacy while online. Maybe you’ve made enemies or inadvertently endeared yourself to some over-infatuated stalker and want to safeguard your activities. Perhaps you travel frequently for business and spend a significant amount of time connected to unsecured public Wi-Fi and want to immunize yourself from the painful experience of being targeted by a hacker. Whatever your reasons, demanding a private and secure internet connection no longer means you’re some sketchy weirdo; it’s quickly becoming the new norm. Now, who can you trust to provide an anonymous VPN? We’re offering three years of solid service from Anonymizer!

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You won’t be able to subscribe to HBO Now directly from HBO

HBO officially announced their standalone streaming service, dubbed HBO Now, a couple of weeks ago. It will run $14.99 per month, but the perception was that you could just sign up directly from HBO and you won’t need a cable subscription. While the latter might be true, the former isn’t.

Apparently you will have to sign up through one of their partners. Now we already know that Apple is a partner as they are supposed to have a 3 month exclusive with Apple TV, but users will sign up for the monthly service through iTunes. Furthermore, Cablevision has just signed up as a partner and will offer HBO Now to their Optimum internet customers. So again, users will need to buy HBO Now through Cablevision, but they don’t need a cable subscription. It’s likely other cable companies will start offering HBO Now to those that subscribe to their internet services as well.

It remains to be seen how HBO Now will get on other set-top boxes once the exclusivity period with Apple ends. So for example, in order to watch it on Android TV, an app would be required. Will HBO still offer an HBO Now app, or will it be up the cable company (or other partner) to offer the app? Would Amazon and/or Google become a partner? There are still many questions, and hopefully HBO Now will be easily accessible when the time comes.

source: TheVerge

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