Mobiles may run for months on single charging

Imagine a mobile phone that runs for months after a single charging.

Well, it could soon be a reality as scientists are developing a new battery which they say could be 100 times more powerful than the existing ones.

A team of engineers at the Illinois University are developing the new battery which will have "nanotubes" instead of metal wiring.

The scientists believe using nanotubes - carbon tubes 10,000 times smaller than a human hair - the battery's life could be extended by up to 100 times, Daily Mail newspaper reported.

I think anyone who is dealing with a lot of chargers and plugging things in every night can relate to wanting a cell phone or laptop whose batteries can last for weeks or months," said Eric Pop, Illinois University's Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, who led the research.

Pop claimed that their research could one day mean a mobile device like an iPhone could see hugely extended battery life, possibly to the point that it could run by harvesting thermal or solar energy rather than relying on a battery.

It could also prove groundbreaking for devices much larger than mobile phones or portable computers, Pop said.

"We're not just talking about lightening our pockets or purses," he said.

"This is also important for anything that has to operate on a battery, such as satellites, telecommunications equipment in remote locations, or any number of scientific and military applications," said Pop.

The scientists, who detailed their work in the journal Science, said the research is just the beginning for improving battery life and hope to make devices' power consumption 1,000 times more efficient.