back in texas, the father of the lithium ion battery, dr goodenough, shows no signs of slowing down.glass solid—state battery. a lady by the name of helena braga brought to me a glass which was a remarkable material. i think we've come up with a cell which will really do the trick. together with his colleague, dr braga, goodenough claims the new, non—flammable battery will last longer and recharge quicker. it's a very competitive field. and i — i'm am a competitor. so i'm hoping that the new glass that we've done will enable us to go from liquid electrolyte to a solid electrolyte. it will make things safe as well as cheap. lengthening the life—span of batteries is obviously one of the main aims of researchers worldwide, which could be why a team at bristol university say they've developed a new type that could last thousands of years. they've created a man—made diamond that, when pressed inside a radioactive field, generates a small amount of current. whilst the radiation it gives off is less than a banana, there are no moving parts it involved, and no maintenance required — just dir