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Warning: Exploding Batteries
batlike writes "It seems I have been quite lucky up to this point as I habitually leave my laptop in the trunk of my car - which is just over the gas tank (duh!) . See this article in InfoWorld by Ephraim Schwartz for details. You may want to give it a once over if you currently use lithium-ion batteries."
Article was not much more than an advertisement for Valence and their new Battery Technology.
(sigh)Lucky for us they didn't require us to pay for that crap.
Visit CryptoGnome in his home.
Lithium is toxic, but only in huge amounts and, more importantly, only after a long exposure (weeks). It is used in the treatment of certain psychiatric disorders, and it isn't unusual for a patient to receive several grams of lithium daily. A short-term toxic dose of lithium is probably contained in about 20 or so batteries, and only assuming you inhale ALL of the fumes resulting from their explosion. Not likely to happen.
I hadn't known there were so many idiots in the world until I started using the Internet -Stanislaw Lem
Yeah, your lowly little AA rechargable would happily dump 6,120A in 1 second if the short circuit had small enough resistance.
You're neglecting the fact that a battery is not a perfect voltage source. To correctly model a battery you must put a resistance in series with the voltage source, since all batteries have a internal resistance.
That having been said.. a standard D NiCd cell can put out almost 1000amps for short periods. This is why fuses and other standard short circuit protection devices were invented. Most battery packs have at least one internal fuse, larger ones will have several to handle the possibility of intra-pack shorts.
I'd love to know the Ah specification for the battery in the back seat of the Honda Hybrids. It absolutely terrifies me to know that idiots are buying them and driving around.
Then look it up.
"a total output of 144 V and 6.5 amp-hours" for the Honda Insight... about 6.0amp/hr for the Civic. The batteries themselves are Nickel Metal Hydride "D" cells.
The batteries are time bombs, hazardous waste and chemical burn nightmares.
Hazardous waste? There are far more Superfund cleanup sites caused by leaking gasoline/oil storage than battery manufacture. Lead Acid batteries are the most recycled item in the United States (more than AL cans). 95% of the battery itself can be recycled (the plastic case is often discarded. Lithium should ideally not be disposed of in the trash, but in a LiOH battery it is pretty stable. Lead Acid does offer the possibility of Acid burns, but the dilute acid is really only a problem is it gets in your eyes.. on the skin it typically only causes irration and a mild rash. And don't forget.. the explosive potential of the gasoline in your car is equal to almost 3 sticks of dynamite.
The charging process is inefficient at best (<50%).
Not sure where you get your numbers... Lead Acid batteries charging in large strings is over 90% efficent. From powerplant to road electric cars are more than twice as efficent as burning gasoline in an internal combustion engine (more than 50% of the energy in the coal burned in the powerplant ends up moving the car, as opposed to only about 11% of the energy of gasoline). Better still if you factor the environmental/energy cost of transporting, and refining the fuel (Think of the fuel it takes to run the tanker that brings the gasoline to you).
A gasoline car will always emit the same, or more pollution during its life. Most powerplants get cleaner everyday from tighter environmental resitrictions. My electric car is powered entirely from renewable energy (wind) and is more or less "zero emmission" because of it.
How many new coal and nuclear power plants are gonna have to be built when 10,000,000 Los Angeles commuters start plugging in their electric cars every night?
Most electric cars will be charged during the evening or early morning hours when demand for electricity is at its lowest. The EPA estimates that over half of the cars in California could be electric, and no additional power generation would be required. Indeed, one company showed a prototype electric car that could be used as battery when plugged in, and provide desperatly needed peaking power to avoid brownouts.
I have actually seen a video (by Valence) of a lithium ion (cobalt) battery being driven into thermal runaway... it goes off like a torch. Not something you want to have happen, but the safety systems in the batteries themselves are excellent. There have been only a handful of battery fires in the millions of currently deployed batteries.
I realize this is slashdot.. but if you want people to believe your college educated it never hurts to do some research before opening your mouth.