#insulator-dust

#insulator-dust

When the Finnish startup unveiled its battery at the Consumer Electronics Show in January, the specifications shocked the battery industry. How could an unknown company leapfrog Toyota, Factorial, and CATL in the solid-state race? The startup claimed 400 watt-hours per kilogram of energy density, a 100,000-cycle lifespan and a charge time of roughly five minutes.

We demonstrate how the apparent magnetic field induced lattice and CDW intensity change can be explained as a consequence of two independent experimental artifacts: a reconfiguration of atoms at the STM tip apex that alters the amplitudes of CDW modulations, and piezo creep, hysteresis and thermal drift, which artificially distort STM topographs.

For the most part, rechargeable battery-powered devices are incredibly well-behaved. It's a good thing, really, because most of us are happy to go to sleep with a charging smartphone not far from our head each night, and cram ourselves onto an aircraft and spend many hours at 40,000 feet surrounded by hundreds of different devices -- all of varying quality and state of repair -- containing a rechargeable battery.

When the battery starts discharging, the sulfur at the cathode starts losing electrons and forming sulfur tetrachloride (SCl 4), using chloride it stole from the electrolyte. As the electrons flow into the anode, they combine with the sodium, which plates onto the aluminum, forming a layer of sodium metal. Obviously, this wouldn't work with an aqueous electrolyte, given how powerfully sodium reacts with water.