CSIRO team demonstrates working quantum battery prototype with femtosecond charging
Researchers led by CSIRO's James Quach built a quantum battery prototype that charges in femtoseconds using a phenomenon called superabsorption, where organic dye molecules packed between two mirrors respond collectively to laser light. Unlike conventional batteries, this device charges faster as more molecules are added, and the team successfully extracted a small electrical current from it, extending earlier 2022 research that only showed rapid energy absorption.
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Conventional batteries slow down as they scale up, so a system that speeds up with size hints at fundamentally different energy storage physics that could matter for future quantum computing hardware or specialized fast-response systems. The prototype is still tiny, storing energy for mere nanoseconds, but proving current extraction—not just absorption—closes a key gap between theory and a functioning device.
- The prototype uses laser-driven dye molecules between two mirrors to achieve near-instant femtosecond charging via superabsorption.
- Unlike normal batteries, this design charges faster as more molecules are added, reversing typical scaling behavior.
- The team extracted a small electrical current, a first for this technology, though it stores energy only briefly and is far from consumer use.
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Published there as: “Scientists built a battery that charges almost instantly, but there's a catch”
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