Sometimes, the US government really does do things to make our lives easier and better. Researchers at Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois have been working hard to find a way to increase the lifespan and capacity of Lithium-Ion batteries, those rechargeable beauties that keep my cell phone ringing and my remote control changing channels. The scientists have discovered that using electrodes made of manganese oxide prevents the overheating and combustion problems that can occur when using cobalt oxide electrodes. Also, the Argonne researchers have found that a Li-Ion battery's capacity can be increased by 30% simply by utilizing a compound consisting of certain electrochemically active materials mixed with other inactive materials - which makes the compound more stable. The net result is a laptop battery that produces 30% more power, and is capable of being charged and discharged 1500 times - twice the lifespan of current Li-Ion batteries. The Argonne team has licensed the technology to a Japanese company, who claims the ability to manufacture 30 million of these super batteries. Battery life has always been a factor that has kept me from purchasing a laptop - this new battery may change that.