Lead-Acid Battery Efficiency
01-17-2011 | 06:32 PM
#1
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From: Acworth, GA
Lead-Acid Battery Efficiency
From New Scientist - Physics and Math
Thank relativity every time your car starts. Lead-acid batteries get about 80 per cent of their voltage from special relativistic effects.
The transfer of electrons between two forms of lead in the batteries yields a potential of more than 2 volts, higher than most other batteries. But why they are so good has been a puzzle. Lighter weight tin, for example, which sits one row above lead in the periodic table, is too feeble to power a battery.
Pekka Pyykkö at the University of Helsinki in Finland and colleagues have calculated that the stronger charges on the heavier lead nuclei attract electrons more powerfully, so they reach 60 per cent the speed of light compared to tin's 35 per cent. According to relativity, this gives the electrons higher effective masses, increasing their binding energy to the electrode that attracts them and thus their voltage.
Without these relativistic effects, Pyykkö and colleagues calculate that lead-acid batteries would generate only 0.39 volts. With them, they predict 2.13 volts, in good agreement with the measured 2.11 volts.
"Batteries involving other heavy elements, such as mercury, will probably have very similar effects," Pyykkö told New Scientist.
Note from Wally: They may be super-scientists, but they are a little lax on the difference between "battery" and "cell".
Thank relativity every time your car starts. Lead-acid batteries get about 80 per cent of their voltage from special relativistic effects.
The transfer of electrons between two forms of lead in the batteries yields a potential of more than 2 volts, higher than most other batteries. But why they are so good has been a puzzle. Lighter weight tin, for example, which sits one row above lead in the periodic table, is too feeble to power a battery.
Pekka Pyykkö at the University of Helsinki in Finland and colleagues have calculated that the stronger charges on the heavier lead nuclei attract electrons more powerfully, so they reach 60 per cent the speed of light compared to tin's 35 per cent. According to relativity, this gives the electrons higher effective masses, increasing their binding energy to the electrode that attracts them and thus their voltage.
Without these relativistic effects, Pyykkö and colleagues calculate that lead-acid batteries would generate only 0.39 volts. With them, they predict 2.13 volts, in good agreement with the measured 2.11 volts.
"Batteries involving other heavy elements, such as mercury, will probably have very similar effects," Pyykkö told New Scientist.
Note from Wally: They may be super-scientists, but they are a little lax on the difference between "battery" and "cell".
or on mercury
01-18-2011 | 07:18 AM
#5
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Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 12,155
Likes: 371
From: Johnson City, TN
Not sure what it all means, but the dude is serious about his ****.
Pekka Pyykkö
Born October 12, 1941 in Hinnerjoki, Finland.
Professor of Chemistry at University of Helsinki, Finland.
Email:Pekka.Pyykko@helsinki.fi
pyykko@chem.helsinki.fi
WWW: external link
Member of Finska Vetenskaps-Societeten, Suomalainen Tiedeakatemia, Kungliga Vetenskapssamhället i Uppsala, European Academy of Arts, Sciences and Letters, Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften, and Academia Europea. Decorated by the President of Finland (FVR R I, 1995). A. I. Virtanen Prize 1997. E. J. Nyström Prize 1998, Humboldt Prize 2002.
Author of:
Over 260 scientific papers and the bibliography "Relativistic Theory of Atoms and Molecules I–III" (Springer, Berlin, 1986, 1993, 2000). See home page.
Important Contributions:
Pyykkö started his scientific activity as a solid-state NMR spectroscopist. His measurement of deuteron quadrupole coupling constants in 1966–68 may have some limited value as such and, combined with the related electric field gradient (EFG) calculations, formed the platform of his later activity.
The chemical and physical differences between 5th-row and 6th-row elements seem to be largely due to relativity. Relativistic effects also sometimes strongly affect bond lengths (Desclaux and Pyykkö 1974), bond strengths and optical properties, not to mention NMR parameters, where they can be very large. Since 1971, he has been publishing in this area. It has been a scientific gold mine, still far from empty. The main results have now entered many elementary and advanced textbooks in inorganic chemistry. These effects of the Dirac dynamics are changed by about –1% for the valence electrons of heavy elements by the next physical level, QED, as shown in 1998.
Three further main activities since the 1990s have been the study of strong closed-shell interactions ('metallophilic' attractions) in inorganic chemistry, the determination of nuclear quadrupole moments by combining accurate EFG calculations and spectroscopic data (CRC Handbook 1993–), and the prediction of new inorganic species. Several have been made and characterised: PBP3-, NBC4-, FCNF+, N5+ in salts and PS3-, NUO+, AuXe+, XeAuXe+, WAu12 and OUIr+ in mass spectroscopy and CdH2 and NBNN in matrices.
Pekka Pyykkö
Born October 12, 1941 in Hinnerjoki, Finland.
Professor of Chemistry at University of Helsinki, Finland.
Email:Pekka.Pyykko@helsinki.fi
pyykko@chem.helsinki.fi
WWW: external link
Member of Finska Vetenskaps-Societeten, Suomalainen Tiedeakatemia, Kungliga Vetenskapssamhället i Uppsala, European Academy of Arts, Sciences and Letters, Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften, and Academia Europea. Decorated by the President of Finland (FVR R I, 1995). A. I. Virtanen Prize 1997. E. J. Nyström Prize 1998, Humboldt Prize 2002.
Author of:
Over 260 scientific papers and the bibliography "Relativistic Theory of Atoms and Molecules I–III" (Springer, Berlin, 1986, 1993, 2000). See home page.
Important Contributions:
Pyykkö started his scientific activity as a solid-state NMR spectroscopist. His measurement of deuteron quadrupole coupling constants in 1966–68 may have some limited value as such and, combined with the related electric field gradient (EFG) calculations, formed the platform of his later activity.
The chemical and physical differences between 5th-row and 6th-row elements seem to be largely due to relativity. Relativistic effects also sometimes strongly affect bond lengths (Desclaux and Pyykkö 1974), bond strengths and optical properties, not to mention NMR parameters, where they can be very large. Since 1971, he has been publishing in this area. It has been a scientific gold mine, still far from empty. The main results have now entered many elementary and advanced textbooks in inorganic chemistry. These effects of the Dirac dynamics are changed by about –1% for the valence electrons of heavy elements by the next physical level, QED, as shown in 1998.
Three further main activities since the 1990s have been the study of strong closed-shell interactions ('metallophilic' attractions) in inorganic chemistry, the determination of nuclear quadrupole moments by combining accurate EFG calculations and spectroscopic data (CRC Handbook 1993–), and the prediction of new inorganic species. Several have been made and characterised: PBP3-, NBC4-, FCNF+, N5+ in salts and PS3-, NUO+, AuXe+, XeAuXe+, WAu12 and OUIr+ in mass spectroscopy and CdH2 and NBNN in matrices.
01-18-2011 | 12:25 PM
#7
Race Car
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 4,016
Likes: 157
Not sure what it all means, but the dude is serious about his ****.
Pekka Pyykkö
Born October 12, 1941 in Hinnerjoki, Finland.
Professor of Chemistry at University of Helsinki, Finland.
Email:Pekka.Pyykko@helsinki.fi
pyykko@chem.helsinki.fi
WWW: external link
Member of Finska Vetenskaps-Societeten, Suomalainen Tiedeakatemia, Kungliga Vetenskapssamhället i Uppsala, European Academy of Arts, Sciences and Letters, Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften, and Academia Europea. Decorated by the President of Finland (FVR R I, 1995). A. I. Virtanen Prize 1997. E. J. Nyström Prize 1998, Humboldt Prize 2002.
Author of:
Over 260 scientific papers and the bibliography "Relativistic Theory of Atoms and Molecules I–III" (Springer, Berlin, 1986, 1993, 2000). See home page.
Important Contributions:
Pyykkö started his scientific activity as a solid-state NMR spectroscopist. His measurement of deuteron quadrupole coupling constants in 1966–68 may have some limited value as such and, combined with the related electric field gradient (EFG) calculations, formed the platform of his later activity.
The chemical and physical differences between 5th-row and 6th-row elements seem to be largely due to relativity. Relativistic effects also sometimes strongly affect bond lengths (Desclaux and Pyykkö 1974), bond strengths and optical properties, not to mention NMR parameters, where they can be very large. Since 1971, he has been publishing in this area. It has been a scientific gold mine, still far from empty. The main results have now entered many elementary and advanced textbooks in inorganic chemistry. These effects of the Dirac dynamics are changed by about –1% for the valence electrons of heavy elements by the next physical level, QED, as shown in 1998.
Three further main activities since the 1990s have been the study of strong closed-shell interactions ('metallophilic' attractions) in inorganic chemistry, the determination of nuclear quadrupole moments by combining accurate EFG calculations and spectroscopic data (CRC Handbook 1993–), and the prediction of new inorganic species. Several have been made and characterised: PBP3-, NBC4-, FCNF+, N5+ in salts and PS3-, NUO+, AuXe+, XeAuXe+, WAu12 and OUIr+ in mass spectroscopy and CdH2 and NBNN in matrices.
Pekka Pyykkö
Born October 12, 1941 in Hinnerjoki, Finland.
Professor of Chemistry at University of Helsinki, Finland.
Email:Pekka.Pyykko@helsinki.fi
pyykko@chem.helsinki.fi
WWW: external link
Member of Finska Vetenskaps-Societeten, Suomalainen Tiedeakatemia, Kungliga Vetenskapssamhället i Uppsala, European Academy of Arts, Sciences and Letters, Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften, and Academia Europea. Decorated by the President of Finland (FVR R I, 1995). A. I. Virtanen Prize 1997. E. J. Nyström Prize 1998, Humboldt Prize 2002.
Author of:
Over 260 scientific papers and the bibliography "Relativistic Theory of Atoms and Molecules I–III" (Springer, Berlin, 1986, 1993, 2000). See home page.
Important Contributions:
Pyykkö started his scientific activity as a solid-state NMR spectroscopist. His measurement of deuteron quadrupole coupling constants in 1966–68 may have some limited value as such and, combined with the related electric field gradient (EFG) calculations, formed the platform of his later activity.
The chemical and physical differences between 5th-row and 6th-row elements seem to be largely due to relativity. Relativistic effects also sometimes strongly affect bond lengths (Desclaux and Pyykkö 1974), bond strengths and optical properties, not to mention NMR parameters, where they can be very large. Since 1971, he has been publishing in this area. It has been a scientific gold mine, still far from empty. The main results have now entered many elementary and advanced textbooks in inorganic chemistry. These effects of the Dirac dynamics are changed by about –1% for the valence electrons of heavy elements by the next physical level, QED, as shown in 1998.
Three further main activities since the 1990s have been the study of strong closed-shell interactions ('metallophilic' attractions) in inorganic chemistry, the determination of nuclear quadrupole moments by combining accurate EFG calculations and spectroscopic data (CRC Handbook 1993–), and the prediction of new inorganic species. Several have been made and characterised: PBP3-, NBC4-, FCNF+, N5+ in salts and PS3-, NUO+, AuXe+, XeAuXe+, WAu12 and OUIr+ in mass spectroscopy and CdH2 and NBNN in matrices.
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01-18-2011 | 02:36 PM
#8
Burning Brakes
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 969
Likes: 0
From: Santa Cruz, California
As you go faster... you get heavier, have more energy. Makes sense. One of the problems of trying to get to C, the weight. No troubles if you're a neutrino... different story if you have the mass of a 200 lb'er.
01-18-2011 | 07:10 PM
#10
Rennlist Member
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 13,582
Likes: 1,034
From: Boulder Creek, CA
Not sure what it all means, but the dude is serious about his ****.
Pekka Pyykkö
Born October 12, 1941 in Hinnerjoki, Finland.
Professor of Chemistry at University of Helsinki, Finland.
Email:Pekka.Pyykko@helsinki.fi
pyykko@chem.helsinki.fi
WWW: external link
Member of Finska Vetenskaps-Societeten, Suomalainen Tiedeakatemia, Kungliga Vetenskapssamhället i Uppsala, European Academy of Arts, Sciences and Letters, Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften, and Academia Europea. Decorated by the President of Finland (FVR R I, 1995). A. I. Virtanen Prize 1997. E. J. Nyström Prize 1998, Humboldt Prize 2002.
Author of:
Over 260 scientific papers and the bibliography "Relativistic Theory of Atoms and Molecules I–III" (Springer, Berlin, 1986, 1993, 2000). See home page.
Important Contributions:
Pyykkö started his scientific activity as a solid-state NMR spectroscopist. His measurement of deuteron quadrupole coupling constants in 1966–68 may have some limited value as such and, combined with the related electric field gradient (EFG) calculations, formed the platform of his later activity.
The chemical and physical differences between 5th-row and 6th-row elements seem to be largely due to relativity. Relativistic effects also sometimes strongly affect bond lengths (Desclaux and Pyykkö 1974), bond strengths and optical properties, not to mention NMR parameters, where they can be very large. Since 1971, he has been publishing in this area. It has been a scientific gold mine, still far from empty. The main results have now entered many elementary and advanced textbooks in inorganic chemistry. These effects of the Dirac dynamics are changed by about –1% for the valence electrons of heavy elements by the next physical level, QED, as shown in 1998.
Three further main activities since the 1990s have been the study of strong closed-shell interactions ('metallophilic' attractions) in inorganic chemistry, the determination of nuclear quadrupole moments by combining accurate EFG calculations and spectroscopic data (CRC Handbook 1993–), and the prediction of new inorganic species. Several have been made and characterised: PBP3-, NBC4-, FCNF+, N5+ in salts and PS3-, NUO+, AuXe+, XeAuXe+, WAu12 and OUIr+ in mass spectroscopy and CdH2 and NBNN in matrices.
Pekka Pyykkö
Born October 12, 1941 in Hinnerjoki, Finland.
Professor of Chemistry at University of Helsinki, Finland.
Email:Pekka.Pyykko@helsinki.fi
pyykko@chem.helsinki.fi
WWW: external link
Member of Finska Vetenskaps-Societeten, Suomalainen Tiedeakatemia, Kungliga Vetenskapssamhället i Uppsala, European Academy of Arts, Sciences and Letters, Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften, and Academia Europea. Decorated by the President of Finland (FVR R I, 1995). A. I. Virtanen Prize 1997. E. J. Nyström Prize 1998, Humboldt Prize 2002.
Author of:
Over 260 scientific papers and the bibliography "Relativistic Theory of Atoms and Molecules I–III" (Springer, Berlin, 1986, 1993, 2000). See home page.
Important Contributions:
Pyykkö started his scientific activity as a solid-state NMR spectroscopist. His measurement of deuteron quadrupole coupling constants in 1966–68 may have some limited value as such and, combined with the related electric field gradient (EFG) calculations, formed the platform of his later activity.
The chemical and physical differences between 5th-row and 6th-row elements seem to be largely due to relativity. Relativistic effects also sometimes strongly affect bond lengths (Desclaux and Pyykkö 1974), bond strengths and optical properties, not to mention NMR parameters, where they can be very large. Since 1971, he has been publishing in this area. It has been a scientific gold mine, still far from empty. The main results have now entered many elementary and advanced textbooks in inorganic chemistry. These effects of the Dirac dynamics are changed by about –1% for the valence electrons of heavy elements by the next physical level, QED, as shown in 1998.
Three further main activities since the 1990s have been the study of strong closed-shell interactions ('metallophilic' attractions) in inorganic chemistry, the determination of nuclear quadrupole moments by combining accurate EFG calculations and spectroscopic data (CRC Handbook 1993–), and the prediction of new inorganic species. Several have been made and characterised: PBP3-, NBC4-, FCNF+, N5+ in salts and PS3-, NUO+, AuXe+, XeAuXe+, WAu12 and OUIr+ in mass spectroscopy and CdH2 and NBNN in matrices.
$10 says...he'll end up in a Finnish WalMart parking lot, with a flat cell, and lacking jumper cables someday.
