Saw this on Scientific American website. But what caught me eye was the subheading: A Glitch 2,000 papers missed?
Last week, in the journal Nature Communications, researchers outlined a new understanding of how energy moves within certain types of electrodes in cells, overturning the conventional wisdom that has reigned for more than 80 years.
Until recently, researchers modeled how electrons moved in cathodes and anodes using the Butler-Volmer equation, which describes how electrical currents respond to electrical potentials. Chemist Max Volmer described this relationship in 1930, building on work from chemist John Alfred Valentine Butler based on empirical measurements. Experiments around the time confirmed these results, but as researchers devised new types of batteries and developed better testing instruments, the model started breaking down.
Rob
