Wirt talks about fuel cells as an upcoming technology.  In the meantime...

I recently acquired some zinc-air fuel cell batteries from Instant Power for
my Pocket PC and my cellphone.  What is interesting about this technology is
that you use the fuel cell battery (PowerCartridge) to power and recharge
your PDA or your cellphone.  The zinc-air fuel call battery has a shelf life
of 2 years.  It is supposed to be good for 3 charges.  After the first use,
the PowerCartridge can be used for up to three charges within a three month
period.

The SmartCord that comes with the fuel cell battery can be used to plug your
device to the PowerCartridge, a car adapter, a wall adapter or a USB
adapter.  The latter allows you to charge or power your phone or your PDA
from your laptop or desktop or powered hub.  Everything is very small and
relatively cheap.   The same PowerCartridge is used to charge all PDAs and
all cellphones.  It is a 3300mAh device but you need the proper cord to
connect to your specific device.  This cord can connect your device to a car
adapter, the PowerCartridge, the USB port of your laptop/desktop or the
wall.

Each fuel cell battery is $10.  The smart cord for a specific device is $5.

http://www.instant-power.com/

They also make fuel cell batteries for digital cameras and camcorders.  They
do not recharge these devices they power them for immediate use.

These things are not the fuel cells Wirt was talking about, but they are a
type of fuel cell.  The PowerCartridge uses air to make electricity.
Indeed, the PowerCartridge comes in hermetically sealed aluminum bag.  Once
the bag is opened and the cartridge exposed to air, it starts making
electricity.  When the cartridge is used up, it can be thrown away as it
does not contain any hazardous chemicals or metals.

Denys

-----Original Message-----
From: HP-3000 Systems Discussion [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of
Wirt Atmar
Sent: Tuesday, May 21, 2002 3:33 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: OT: Manned flight

Shawn asks:

> so I guess we have Lindberg and the Wright Brothers to thank for all this
>  global warming.

To small degree, that's correct, at least in the broader implication. But if
I were to say just one whispered bit of advice, as that given in the
"Graduate", it's "fuel cells."

This technology is not very far off (we went to the Moon with it). But most
importantly, the only significant combustion product is water.

Regardless of whether or not you're for or against global warming, being
resolutely steadfast that you'll never give up your SUV, your opinion almost
doesn't count. We are sometime in the near-term future going to run out of
exploitable petroleum reserves. While no one knows that date at the
moment --
and such predictions are often dismissed by Texas Republicans because the
date of that depletion has been set so many times before and have obviously
been wrong so many times before -- petroleum is a finite quality. Given the
ever increasing rate of its consumption, you will probably see that
depletion
sometime during your lifetime.

While "saving the planet" has obviously little appeal to the general masses,
having to not walk will be undoubtedly be a great incentive to develop clean
new sources of energy.

Wirt Atmar

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