Mehdi says, "Don't Take Capacitors for Granted...SHIIIT!" has been added as a related post - related requested by chingalera.

Seems legit (see below link). Apparently works because it's so thin and therefore has such low mass, and yet it's still latticed graphite. It has all the conductive properties of graphite but flattened to 1 atom thick. So we're talking about capacitance per kg (grams in practicality but kg is SI) and when you get a bunch of them arranged into a capacitor, you'd have more capacitance for the mass of your capacitor than with an ordinary one.

http://bucky-central.me.utexas.edu/RuoffsPDFs/179.pdf
(that's straight from the wikipedia reference)

As a side note, if it's sciencey and you can't find any pdf or some sort of publication on the matter then take it with a pinch of salt. Conversely a pdf or publication doesn't make it true

So let me get this straight:

1. Smear graphite paste on a CD/DVD.
2. Put said disc into laser drive.
3. Take out graphene disk
4. Something magical.
5. Charge it.
6. Use your super capacitor.

Now there's a video that would be funny. Have video of someone attaching a flux capacitor to a peregrine falcon and film it in a dive. Add some FX and *blam* fire trail in the sky. Watch the Peta people freak out =)

It might work best with a Peregrine Falcon as they are more prone to overcoming 88mph. Now to get a flux capacitor attached to it.

**Safety Note**

If you take apart a microwave oven be very, very careful of the capacitor (looks like a metal can near the magnetron). These caps store an impressive amount of charge and can knock you across the room--even after the oven is unplugged.

Yeah i think they go between the intermittent source and the grid and stabilize the flow. Like a big slow motion capacitor.

>> ^curiousity:

>> ^GeeSussFreeK:
I don't think this is even close to grid level storage, at all. For instance, in Austin this year, between 4 and 5 p.m we consumed 66,867 megawatts. For those who are counting, that is over 33k of these things. Lets talk about storing them. Each container would be 40x8x8 feet; or 2,560 cubic feet. Lets just say we need 1 hours worthish of power, so 33k of them. That is 84 million cubic feet! For reference, the Empire State building is 37 million cubic feet. So for one hour of power here in Austin, we would need about 3 Empire state buildings of liquid metal batteries, unless my math is wrong (someone check me!) If my math is right, this isn't even close to a grid level storage ability. Your going to need density on the order of 1000 better to even be reasonably sized at 84k cubic feet (about the size of a large factory, or concert hall).
The only reason to try and investigate battery grid backup is to address the issue of wind and solar being so energy inefficient, and volatile. It is a better solution to just have them generate secondary power and let new fission based technologies take hold; best of both worlds. Then again, I have a personal bias

I thought that he had clearly made the point that this investigation into grid battery technology was for the purpose of making those intermittent renewable resources reliable to the point that they could more easily attach to the grid. You are arguing that this isn't suitable for a purpose that he isn't designing it for.

Tags for this video have been changed from 'magnetics, tesla, magnet, capacitors, energy, joules' to 'magnetics, tesla, magnet, capacitors, energy, joules, los alamos' - edited by RhesusMonk

*music and *flux capacitors

To put it simply, it's just a giant capacitor.

>> ^Trancecoach:

an electrostatic leader is formed by the change in pressure in the atmosphere caused by a thundercloud moving over the surface of the earth, setting the charges on the base of the cloud and the surface of the earth equal but opposite. A channel of ionized air starts from the negatively charged region in the cloud, mixes with water and ice. the initial bipolar discharge, called a leader, generates the stepped leaders which result in the familiarly branched or zigzag path of least resistance as the electrostatic imbalance is returned to zero by the return stroke of lightening.
>> ^Payback:
FFFFFFFFuuuuuuuucccccccckkkkkkkkiiiiiiiinnnnnnnngggggggg lllllllliiiiiiiigggggggghhhhhhhhttttttttnnnnnnnniiiiiiiinnnnnnnngggggggg, hhhhhhhhoooooooowwwwwwww ddddddddooooooooeeeeeeeessssssss iiiiiiiitttttttt wwwwwwwwoooooooorrrrrrrrkkkkkkkk?

>> ^drk421:

>> ^Boise_Lib:
The capacitors aren't the problem as stated above. The CRT itself is a very large capacitor (stores charge) and can knock you on your ass for a long time after the tv is unplugged.
Also, she's weird.

Yeah, my old boss got shocked by the CRT discharge and his arm swung against the side of the wall and he got cut really bad. It has about the same effect has getting shocked by an ignition coil from a car. I had a similar situation while working on a tube amplifier (around 600V).
High voltage DC will basically burn you really bad (provided it has enough current), but unless you have heart condition it probably won't kill you. It will defibrillate you and wake you up though.
High voltage low frequency AC (between 30 and 1000hz) is deadly starting at around 45 volts. As you get into the higher frequency AC voltages it has less affect on your heart, and thus less likely to kill you.


I saw a chart once in physics class that showed the lethality vs. frequency of AC. The peak was at 50 Hz--right where Europe put their power supply.

I got bit by 277VAC 50Hz once--burned a 1/2 inch hole 1/4 inch deep in my arm.
(I wish we had the metric system in the old USA)

>> ^Boise_Lib:

The capacitors aren't the problem as stated above. The CRT itself is a very large capacitor (stores charge) and can knock you on your ass for a long time after the tv is unplugged.
Also, she's weird.


Yeah, my old boss got shocked by the CRT discharge and his arm swung against the side of the wall and he got cut really bad. It has about the same effect has getting shocked by an ignition coil from a car. I had a similar situation while working on a tube amplifier (around 600V).

High voltage DC will basically burn you really bad (provided it has enough current), but unless you have heart condition it probably won't kill you. It will defibrillate you and wake you up though.

High voltage low frequency AC (between 30 and 1000hz) is deadly starting at around 45 volts. As you get into the higher frequency AC voltages it has less affect on your heart, and thus less likely to kill you.

The capacitors aren't the problem as stated above. The CRT itself is a very large capacitor (stores charge) and can knock you on your ass for a long time after the tv is unplugged.

Also, she's weird.

I was actually (perhaps in a naive way) hoping for the capacitors to become so full that the energy created from the magnetic field would be enough to rip apart a toaster. The projectile shattered not only the toaster's glass, but also my dreams...

Something is a bit fishy here, its been a long time since computer gear stopped using through-hole components (the big chips and capacitors). Maybe I'm paranoid but this would be much easier to CG than to actually wait 5 years with what appears to be a really old circuit board.