On Wed, 14 Nov 2007 08:45:59 -0800, Jay Honeck
wrote in . com:

From the research below, it does indeed seem that the lithium-oxygen
battery offers the highest energy density that the laws of physics
permit.

Big snip of fascinating stuff

Thanks for posting that, Larry.

I'm happy you found it interesting.


The problem of temperature range must be considered again because
the performance of Lithium-air varies by a factor of 5 over the
-20 0C to +40 0C range. It is important to note that the battery
must be tuned to the application because Lithium-air batteries are
not going to start Minnesota autos in January.

That's the kiss of death, I'm afraid.

That's what I thought at first too. But I would expect the battery to
warm when it is in use, so the it may not be the low end of the useful
temperature range that is limiting.

Perhaps a mix of lithium-air
with lithium-ion batteries would work, but the climate in the US is
too widely variable to rely on a power supply that is so temperature-
sensitive.

It seems that lithium-oxygen technology is still firmly in the
development stage. We'll have to see how it matures before reaching
any firm conclusions about its feasibility for aviation uses. At
least it seem promising.