New Device Makes Electric Currents Visible!

Here comes a magnetic imaging device that makes electric currents visible. It really sounds great for engineers as they will now be able to see where electric currents are flowing in a circuit. For instance, when they charge a battery, electricity accumulates inside. Using the new device, they can now see where it accumulates.
The device has been developed by researchers from Kobe University’s Graduate School of Science, led by Associate Professor Kenji Kimura.

According to the researchers, "This device gives a picture showing where electric currents are flowing in a circuit. In some cases, we've actually converted the images to measurements. When you charge a battery, electricity accumulates inside, and using this device, you can see where it accumulates. When a battery's been used for a long time, it ages, and it can't be charged anymore. This device shows where inside the battery is damaged and can't be charged. You can do diagnostics, like with X-rays and MRI in hospitals, but for batteries instead. That's the kind of device we're actually presenting here."
The USP of the device is that it measures magnetism arising from inside the battery. It makes use of that data to solve Maxwell's equations in 3D hence giving a clear picture of how electricity moves deep inside the battery. The group is currently working on how to utilise the magnetic imaging device for batteries.
"There are lots of high-performance batteries. But while they're being used, their performance deteriorates. The causes and locations of battery deterioration aren't well understood. But if we can see what's happening inside, it'll be possible to make batteries with very high performance," they added.
The device is likely to be available in summer 2012.