On 2012-12-31, wrote:

As for "emerging technology", the lithium battery was invented in 1912.

The lithium battery of 1912 shares nothing in common with the lithium-ion
battery of today apart from the use of lithium. That's like saying
the transistor was invented in 1947, so therefore semiconductors are
not going to change or improve.

The Li-Ion battery wasn't actually invented until 1979 and bears no
resemblence to the lithium-ion battery or lithium-polymer-ion battery
(indeed, the particular chemistry for Li-Ion wasn't discovered until
the 1970s). The term "lithium battery" refers to many different battery
chemistries which generally are not alike, except they use Li. Anode
and cathode technology is a hotbed of development, and when it comes
to energy density, the anode and cathode structure is enormously
important.

Li-Ion and Li-Poly has significantly improved just over the last few
years, since I started fiddling with RC helicopters 5 years ago, the
batteries have improved noticably, they've got a bit smaller, the "C"
ratings (the maximum discharge rate) has gone up significantly, and
also the maximum charge rate has significantly increased. And the cost
has gone down, too.