Engineers from MIT and Kyushu University in Japan have demonstrated for the first time how light can be used to significantly improve the performance of fuel cells, lithium batteries, and other devices that are based on the movement of charged atoms, or ions.
Charge can be carried through a material in different ways. We are most familiar with the charge that is carried by the electrons that help make up an atom. Light has long been used to excite electrons to make them more conductive. Common applications include solar cells, and even supermarket doors that automatically open when a customer passes through. The latter rely on sensors in the door activated by the infrared radiation — light — naturally emitted by the customer.
“But there are many devices that depend on the motion of the ions themselves, rather than just their constituent electrons,”…