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Mobile phone charge could soon last for months

Mobile phones could soon last for months rather than days before they need to be charged, following new research from America.

Researchers at Illinois University believe a new method they have discovered could see mobile phone and laptop charges lasting 100 times longer than they currently do. The method changes the way a device's digital memory works so that the battery is not worn down as quickly.

The researchers reduced the size of the components which are used to store and retrieve data, meaning that less electricity is needed to carry out these tasks. They did this by using carbon nanotubes, which are thousands of times thinner than a human hair, instead of the metal wires currently used.

Professor Eric Pop, who led the project, said, "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."

He said that eventually mobile phones could be charged purely through heat, kinetic or solar energy. An academic paper which outlines the researchers' findings is to be published in the Science journal.