Wow, only a couple of days after we told you that Carbon Nano Tubes could be used to make more efficient solar panels, a group at MIT have put in for a patent on using CNT "springs" to make longer lasting batteries.

These batteries would not be similar to the current crop of LiON batteries except for their ability to hold a charge when not in use.

You see CNTs do not lose, resist or otherwise affect the electrons in them. In terms of a transistor or another part of a CPU circuit it means no leakage and more efficient (pronounce faster) transfer of power.

For batteries this means that what you put in them stays there regardless of the length of time or environment around them. Imagine a battery that could hold its charge for 10 years while unused. Of course, as with all single molecule carbon structures you can expect about 6-10 years before you see it on the shelves.