This year at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair a surprising invention from one teen student stunned the crowd, yet only came in second place. What would that be? A new way to recharge a cellphone battery completely in only 20-30 seconds. Sounds amazing right? 18-year-old Eesha Khare from Saratoga California, came in second place with this invention of a supercapacitor that can charge a battery very quick.

The news has been spreading this afternoon like a wildfire, and has many in the tech industry quite interested. So much in fact, that Eesha Khare even mentioned Google’s reached out to her for more details. While we don’t have anything further on that development, we’d love for Google to add her to the team and bring the first truly rapid charging smartphone to market. We’re getting ahead of ourselves though.

This bit of technology has landed Khare a runner-up prize of $50,000 USD in scholarship funds which she’ll use to attend Harvard University. This is where she aims to continue her ground-breaking research on the project. Her battery material will not only be able to be utilized by the small batteries of smartphones, but in electric cars and many other applications. This isn’t a charger, it’s a new material that is super small, and charges extremely fast.

Back to Intel’s event, the full list of winners is available for those interested. Looks like her technology won more than a few categories. Reason being is her technology as it sits right now is able to last for roughly 10,000 recharge cycles. Current battery tech is lucky to remain durable past 1,000.

Khare goes on to mention the technology is currently powering things like LED’s with ease, so obviously a full smartphone would take tons more research, but is very doable. The system in which she is using is flexible, durable, and can be added to clothing, fabric, flexible displays and more. Get ready for this to be in our upcoming Google Glass, wearable technology like smart watches, and much more.

This is still in the very early stages, but a breakthrough in battery technology has been needed for a long time. Hopefully this is one that will stick, and come to consumer products relatively quick.

SOURCE: SlashGear

18 COMMENTS

  1. You should change the title. She made a new battery MATERIAL. The fact that it charges in 20-30 seconds is secondary. She has minimized the chemical composition to make the batteries tiny, and, thus, chargeable in under a minute. She did not invent a charger.

  2. Article posted it will last for 10,000 charges. That’s significantly more than we currently get from batteries. I don’t understand your comment about abbreviated battery life.

  3. And who says the US is lagging behind India, China, and others in STEM education? I am originally from India and (likely) so are this girl’s parents. This same girl, were she living in India, would have achieved nothing there with all the STEM education the world thinks India is giving its citizens. Advances in the world come not from just knowing theorems and being able to derive complex physics equations (as I was taught). They come from creativity in problem-solving, exactly what this girl got from schools in this country. They also come from being able to apply scientific principles to understand, then make, something a reality. Which is why I think, no matter what our President says, our children may not be able to obtain the highest scores on standardized tests in STEM subjects, but by golly they are able to make things happen with the knowledge they have. Hats-off to Eesha, and congratulations, too.

    • True, the US does offer significantly more creative curriculums to its students, but which students are using it to their advantage? By and large immigrants and the direct descendants of immigrants. Most heavily naturalized American students nowadays would rather party and have sex than do any innovative research. Her case is very rare. Don’t ignore the fact that many tech companies are being shipped overseas and China and India are slowly but surely modernizing their schools and incorporating more innovative curriculums int their classrooms. I’m not saying be like China and India, but this kind of self justifying, “I’m so good I don’t need to do anything to stay on top” mentality is harmful towards the country. We can always improve, and our schools definitely need improving.

      • Sorry, I meant “tech jobs” I doubt that multinational corporations would suddenly move their headquarters overseas.

  4. So if she uses a super conductor instead of a battery then how did she solve the problem that super conductors don’t work at room temperatures? or is there a new one that I’m not aware of? Or does this battery magically refrigerate itself? Really this article is woefully lacking information.

  5. This is great if it can hold up to the recharge cycle. Also can prevent the battery from dumping all the charge before you can get proper amperage for most devices.

  6. A clean home is not just when you have spotless kitchen or a shining floor to walk on. A home is not properly cleaned until and unless it is free from all sorts of pests or small animals. Now on the surface you might feel as if you’ve done a great job in making your home spotless but in your diligent cleaning procedure you forgot to check for mice or fleas or fire ants. And if you do encounter such small insects you are obviously6 disgusted or afraid of them. So what to do when you encounter such a problem? The answer is simple. Call in the knights in the shining armor i.e. call in the professional Sacramento exterminators.

  7. So companies have poured millions into Super/ Ultra capacitor research
    and a high school girl comes up with the latest break-through? I’m kind
    of skeptical about this one, probably some kind of women’s empowerment
    B.S.

  8. BS article, super capacitor, it’s not like ppl haven’t thought up of this before. I was in school, 20 years ago, and it was in our textbooks. what a misleading POS article that doesn’t tell us anything but a garbage fairytale story.

  9. I congratulate this guys who wins the science fair and i think most of the people also happy on this. There are more students are be inspired from here and i hope they also be eager in science education.

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