It's not very common, but we've heard a little about hydrogen fuel cells in technology. In fact, they were once used to power Honda cars. But Apple's latest patents show that they believe hydrogen fuel cells can be used for much more than that; one day, they could be used to power iPhones, iPads, and MacBooks.
Your first reaction is probably to say that powering gadgets with hydrogen fuel cells would be quite hard. And you're right. Powering a device on just cells that can convert oxygen and hydrogen into heat, electricity, and water without taking a toll on its size and cost isn't a simple task. Here's how Apple puts it: "It is extremely challenging to design hydrogen fuel cell systems which are sufficiently portable and cost effective to be used with portable electronic devices."
But, one of Apple's patents shows that they could have found a solution to this problem. Here's what they say: "[We would use a] fuel cell system which is capable of both providing power to and receiving power from a rechargeable battery in a portable computing device. This eliminates the need for a bulky and heavy battery within the fuel cell system, which can significantly reduce the size, weight, and cost of the fuel cell system."
If Apple's solution does in fact work and they are able to produce iPhones, iPads, and MacBooks that run on fuel cells, it will be paradise; Apple claims these devices would be able to last days or even weeks on a single refueling.
