Teen’s Gadget Can Charge Phone in Seconds

by Alyssa Oursler | May 21, 2013 10:43 am

No one likes the days when your Apple (AAPL[1]) iPhone or Samsung (SSNLF[2]

) Galaxy is about to die, and of course you have no phone charger handy.

What everyone probably likes, though, is the idea of fully charging that phone in a mere 20 seconds.

And if you think that sounds impossible, think again.

Eesha Khare — an 18-year-old from Saratoga, Calif. — recently created a device called the supercapacitor. It’s a tiny gizmo that packs more energy into a smaller space than traditional phone batteries and holds the charge for longer. In fact, the supercapacitor is able to handle 10,000 recharge cycles — more than normal batteries by a factor of 10.

Khare has only used the invention to power an LED light, but it could easily fit inside cell phone batteries, be used in roll-up devices and possibly even work for car batteries.

Impressed? So were judged at the Intel (INTC[3]) International Science and Engineering Fair, where Khare’s gadget was honored as one of two winners. Her prize was a hefty $50,000 and the Intel Foundation Young Scientist Award.

Your prize, soon, might just be faster-charging, longer-lasting cell phones.

Source URL: https://investorplace.com/2013/05/teens-gadget-can-charge-phone-in-seconds/

---