The Appeal of Supercapacitors
The idea of replacing conventional batteries with supercapacitors is very attractive due to their fast recharge times. Prices have dropped considerably, and any deficiency can be compensated (up to a point) with more supercapacitors. So, how many would be needed to power a laptop? Although the final answer depends on each system, the Rinoa on YouTube channel shows us the performance of a supercapacitor bank in an old IBM ThinkPad.
The Expensive Problem of Laptop Batteries
Replacing a laptop battery is one of the costliest problems any user must face. That's why it's common to see relatively modern laptops for sale with dead batteries. Many users discover that a new battery is beyond their budget, and this gets worse as time goes on. It's almost impossible to find batteries for old laptops, however, some enthusiasts decided to experiment with alternative power sources. Systems with Ni-MH and Ni-Cad packs are much more tolerant of modifications, and a good example of this appears in the video that Rinoa published a few weeks ago:
The Supercapacitor-Powered ThinkPad
Basically, what he did was replace the battery of his IBM ThinkPad from 1997 with an improvised bank of supercapacitors. If my eyes don't fail me, the specs are 2.7 volts at 500 farads, and they cost about four dollars each on eBay. The green board protects the supercapacitors and balances their charge. An external power supply restores the pack's energy without much effort, but beyond the configuration, the IBM ThinkPad only needs a few minutes to drain it. The computer stops working when the voltage drops to 9.3 volts.
Other Supercapacitor Experiments
This is not the only supercapacitor experiment Rinoa has done, and it's definitely not the only one you'll find on YouTube. I remember one where they manage to replace a car's traditional battery, and the AfroTechMods channel has an excellent explanation of the differences between batteries and supercapacitors, along with several examples of the destructive power a supercapacitor unleashes when its energy is released.
