You drive home through a pollution-free city, hug the kids and settle down to watch a little television.

Oops! Just one last task: You have to plug in the car for tomorrow's trip to work.This futuristic scenario of an electric car in the driveway may be in your not-too-distant future, says University of Rochester electro-chemist Jacob Jorne.

The trick is to build a battery that will power a car for as many miles as a tank of gas, have enough juice for bursts of power, recharge quickly and last for thousands of charges.

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It's a tall order, but Jorne remains optimistic. He is currently experimenting with batteries made from zinc and ones made from lithium, an ultra-light metal.

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