Teen invents device that charges your cellphone in 20 seconds

Cellphones die. It’s a fact. If we don’t charge them, then we will be stuck in an inconvenient predicament, feeling helpless and even naked without our device.

Easha Khare, an 18-year-old from Lynbrook High School in San Jose, CA , has invented a solution to this problem- a device that chargers your cellphone battery in just 20 seconds.

Easha Khare with her 20-second charger.

Khare presented her innovation at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair held last week in Phoenix, AZ.

Out of 1,600 finalists, Khare was chosen as one of two runners-up at the competition that awards scholarships and prizes for innovative research.

Basically, the quick and portable charger is just a new kind of supercapacitor, a device that bridges the gap between capacitors and rechargeable batteries. The tiny device that can fit into a cell phone battery is a kind of energy storage contraption that can hold a lot of energy in a small amount of space. The invention also has potential applications for car batteries and less reliance on electric outlets.

The motivation behind her innovation was quite simple. “My cell phone battery always dies,” Khare told NBC News.

Khare received the Young Scientist Award at the fair, as well as $50,000 that she will use toward her Harvard education.

Additional winners

Henry Wanjune, runner up. (Image via Intel)

The other runner-up, Henry Wanjune, 17, from Lousiana invented a new set of data that will allow scientists to better understand dark matter, dark energy, and heating and cooling in the universe.

 
First place winner, Ionut Alexandru Budisteanum. (Image via Intel)

The first place winner, Ionut Alexandru Budisteanum 19, from Romania used artificial intelligence to create a practical model for a low-cost, driverless car in an attempt to decrease car accidents caused by driver error. He used 3-D radar and camera to create the feasible model of a car that can switch traffic lanes and can even avoid curbs for only $4,000.

Which one of these innovations would you like to see succeed most? Tell us below.