University of Miami physicist develops battery using new source of energy

[dracodraconis]

University of Miami physicist develops battery using new source of energy

Researchers at the University of Miami have developed a battery that stores energy as a magnetic field. The magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) device, dubbed a "spin battery", involves applying a magnetic field to nano-magnets, generating a spin polarized current. The developers expected some sort of storage effect, perhaps lasting milliseconds, but what they observed was the storage of over 100 times the voltage they expected, and for times in the tens of minutes. They hope that this device will eventually lead to better solid-state data storage and batteries for everything from cell phones to cars.