Surface Acoustic Waves
USED ON THE qSAFE ANODE
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Surface Acoustic Waves, or SAWs, are used in certain types of touchscreen technologies. SAWs are propagated along a surface and have many modern applications. These touchscreens, for example, detect the touch of a finger by running ultrasonic waves along the screen's surface and detecting disruptions in the wave pattern.
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The qSafe power cell uses a system of SAWs to prevent the formation of dangerous dendrites caused by lithium buildups on the surface of the anode. A microchip on the anode directs the transmitters that produce the SAWs. These transmitters produce a wave that travels along the shelf system of the anode, effectively shaking the shelf-like layers to remove any lithium-ions that may have become stranded. Lithium ions that would have formed dendrites are allowed back into the flow of lithium during the charging and discharging process, increasing the battery's efficiency and preventing explosions.
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This machine creates a wave pattern that resembles the transverse waves of the system of surface acoustic waves in qSafe.
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The GIF on the left shows the movement of salt caused by SAWs running along the surface of a Chladni plate. The different sound waves produced by the violin bow on the Chladni plate create patterns in the salt. The movement of the salt granules illustrates the ability of SAWs to shake and free lithium ions in the anode of the qSafe power cell.
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