Make: Volume 74

Supercapacitors are among the coolest

of so-called passive electronic

components. Because they are ultra-

high-capacity capacitors, they can

function as batteries capable of being

very rapidly charged and briefly

powering many electronic circuits

and even small motors with bursts

of power. And they’ll endure many

more charge-discharge cycles

than conventional rechargeable

batteries. They’re great as backup

power for equipment during battery

replacement, and they’reideal for

providing long-term power for static

random-access memory (SRAM).

Rechargeable lithium, lead-acid, and

nickel-cadmium cells may require hours

to be recharged. But a super ...