Richard Feynman is an icon for many employees at Tesla Motors. In 1959 the Nobel-Prize winning physicist delivered an inspiring lecture, Plenty of Room at the Bottom, that encouraged research into what would come to be known as nanotechnology.
The nano world plays a key role for many EV elements. It is what makes today’s state-of-the-art EVs very different from vehicles of the early twentieth century. The battery is probably the most central element. For decades, battery technology was developed using rather crude fabrication techniques. But in today’s lithium batteries, plate and separator thicknesses are controlled to within micron dimensions. The result is more powerful and efficient devices. The future of batteries may depend more on nano fabrication than on any other technological element.
Wally Rippel is one lucky man. Not only has he met Richard Feynman, but he has studied under him as well – as you’ll read below. Read more…
