Прототип квантової батареї/RMIT
Australian researchers from RMIT University and the Organization for Scientific and Industrial Research The Commonwealth Organisation (CSIRO), Australia’s national science agency, has developed a new method that extends the life of quantum batteries by a thousand times compared to previous results.
At present, quantum batteries are still far from being used in practice. However, researchers are striving to use the knowledge gained and modern technologies to use quantum mechanics to create an energy storage device.
According to Australian scientists, despite the fact that there are currently many options for efficient energy storage, including lithium batteries, quantum mechanics offers more efficient and environmentally friendly ways, promising more powerful batteries.
The concept of a quantum battery emerged just 10 years ago and is still far from becoming a power source for real-world devices. Instead of using the flow of ions during charge-discharge cycles, the quantum battery principle proposes the transfer of electrons to higher energy states in order to accumulate energy. Photons in this case act as charge carriers and transfer energy to electrons during charging.
To increase the charging rate, such properties of the quantum system as superposition and superabsorption are also used. In particular, entanglement allows particles to work together to improve charging efficiency, and superabsorption increases the amount of energy the battery can store. Quantum batteries are also highly scalable. However, these are still only theoretical concepts, as the batteries created to date do not last longer than a few nanoseconds.
Previous attempts to create quantum batteries have demonstrated high charging speeds, but they discharge just as quickly. Australian researchers have constructed 5 devices and found that energy is stored more efficiently if the two energy levels are perfectly aligned.
«Although we have touched only a tiny part of the overall design, our device is already better at storing energy than its predecessor», — emphasized PhD student at RMIT Daniel Tibben.
The researchers note that the most efficient device demonstrated the accumulation and storage of energy in microseconds, which is 1000 times faster than previous attempts, which lasted only a nanosecond.
«Although it may take some time to create a working quantum battery, this experimental study has allowed us to develop the next generation of devices It is hoped that one day quantum batteries can be used to improve the efficiency of solar cells and power small electronic devices», — notes Professor of Chemistry at RMIT Daniel Gomez.
The results of the study are published in the journal PRX Energy
Source: Interesting Engineering