Super Useful Ultra Capacitors

Regular capacitors are just ok. Supercapacitors, though, will blow your mind.

Well, maybe not, but they do have a much higher energy density than regular old capacitors, like the ones that you can buy at Radio Shack. Not just a little bit more either, but they can hold up to thousands of times more energy than a typical electrolytic capacitor (the ones used in high-current and low-frequency electrical circuits like power-supply filters or in audio amplifiers).

The point is this: supercapacitors—or ultracapacitors—could be used in electric-gas hybrid cars to increase their efficiency, according to a study done at Argonne National Laboratory. Technology Review covered the story.

"Ultracaps" can cut down the size of a hybrid's battery, as well as increasing the lifespan. Not to mention the lower cost and associated drop in price (TR estimated "hundreds of dollars of net savings").

Chad Hall, COO of Ioxus, a company which manufactures ultracapacitors, points out that the function of ultracaps is a little different from the battery, adding, "If you need to start a motor, an ultracapacitor is a good way to do that," he said.