Editor’s note: This article was first published in May 2013; it reports news from that month on the Intel Foundation Young Scientist Award ($50,000), and the student’s age and plans refer to that moment.
Eesha Khare is an 18-year-old student from California, and she has just invented what many people have been waiting for: a device that charges a mobile phone almost instantly (in 20 seconds). What’s more, it could have a very useful application for charging car batteries.
For this invention she received the Intel Foundation Young Scientist Award, worth $50,000, which she says will come in very handy to pay for college and to keep working on scientific advances.
The device is a small, super-powerful unit that can hold more energy in a smaller space, delivering a fast, full charge in 20 or 30 seconds, when the usual charging time is between one and two hours.
Khare also pointed out that the supercapacitor can last 10,000 charge cycles, whereas current batteries are designed for about 1,000.
Without doubt, another case of young talent her parents can be very proud of.
Via: SFGate
Featured image: Leandro Coletto Biazon, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Flickr.
