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Microsoft's New Battery is a Test of AI-Infused Scientific Discovery

Harry McCracken, writing for FastCompany: Recently, Microsoft built a clock. Well, "built" may be overstating things. Members of the company's quantum computing team found a small digital clock in a wood case on Amazon -- the kind you might mistake for a nicer-than-usual trade show tchotchke. They h...

Members of the company's quantum computing team found a small digital clock in a wood case on Amazon -- the kind you might mistake for a nicer-than-usual trade show tchotchke. That holds the potential to address multiple issues with lithium batteries as we know them: their limited life on a charge, shrinking capacity over time, subpar performance in extreme temperatures, and risk of catching fire or even exploding. Unveiled last June, the cloud service is currently a "private preview" being tested by organizations such as Britain's Johnson Matthey, which is using it to help design catalytic converters and hydrogen fuel cells.

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