Fuels cells to change laptop use

[acmejack]

Soon you could be running your laptop computer all day without a recharge as commercial versions of fuel cells go on sale.

At the Cebit technology fair in Hanover, Taiwanese hi-tech firm Antig said its fuel cells should be on the shelves of computer shops by early 2007.

The first versions of the methanol-using units should keep a laptop going for up to nine hours.

Fuel cell technology got a boost recently when international air flight regulators changed rules that banned passengers from carrying flammable methanol onto aircraft.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4794920.stm

[wakeme2008]

1. I do not believe the FAA/TSA would allow these on airplanes

"But, she explained, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) recently changed its guidelines to allow passengers to take methanol cartridges with them when they travel."

Just because they said OK do not mean the FAA/TSA will.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

2. Did you ever notice that they tend NOT to serve beans on

flights of any appreciable duration?? Could you ban "natural gas" as well.... since it is flammable... and just consider an entire planeful of gas emitting
entities on a long bean filled flight....

[acmejack]

3. They just thought they had heartburn with butane lighters!

I never fly & rarely use my cd/dvd r/w drive but a portable power source like that, I'd risk the occasional explosion.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

4. Links

www.ballard.com

www.fuelcellenergy.com

www.plugpower.com

www.ch2bc.org

www.fuelcellstore.com