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Warning: Exploding Batteries

Posted by timothy on from the and-exploding-and-exploding dept.

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."

9 of 260 comments (clear)

  1. Not a fireball by shuz · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Of course they don't really explode into a fire ball but rather short circuit, heat up, melt, and leak acid everywhere.

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    There is or can be built a machine that can simulate any physical object. -Church-Turing principle
    1. Re:Not a fireball by shuz · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Also mind you that for a truly violent "seeping of flame" to occur the Li-ion battery must be charging. I am not an expert but I would guess that if the unit is just sitting that it could still short circuit and heat up but the energy released could not exceed that of which is stored in the battery. If your charging a battery and it short circuits then the energy released could not exceed that of the current in your circuit breaker which is usually about 15-20amp's. If you figure that a typical charger is 9 volts thats 20*9 so 1800 watts max of released energy + E stored in battery, which of course is a hell of a lot of energy but then your circuit breaker goes and... I am rambling...

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      There is or can be built a machine that can simulate any physical object. -Church-Turing principle
    2. Re:Not a fireball by arivanov · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Litium is extremely toxic. And the energy density in an average laptop battery is enough to bring more then enough of it in the air.

      The scary part is that got allowed on board of airplanes after the FAA got convinced that correctly operating bateries are safe. Well... This brings up the obvious question - what about incorrectly operating ones. And what about ones that have had their short circuit protection removed? Nearly perfect bomb and perfectly legal to bring onboard passing all security checks with flying colours.

      Scary...

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      Baker's Law: Misery no longer loves company. Nowadays it insists on it
      http://www.sigsegv.cx/
  2. Hear this, Apple? by FuzzyDaddy · · Score: 3, Interesting
    Ozbek advises users to replace lithium-ion batteries every two to three years. Two years is the safest time period, as constant recharging weakens the battery.

    So if you buy something where you can't change the battery, expect a finite life out of it!

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    It's not wasting time, I'm educating myself.
  3. Many laptops already get hot... by 192939495969798999 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    This should come as no surprise to anyone that's ever used a laptop that got "hot". The first time I put a "hot" laptop on my lap, I freaked out at how hot it actually was. I can't believe that more laptops don't just melt from their own heat anyways, much less the battery exploding, catching fire, or whatever's "really" happening here.

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    stuff |
  4. AN/PRC-77 - Exploding for 30 years by HighOrbit · · Score: 4, Interesting

    If you you were in the U.S. Army sometime before 1990, you probably know what that means. These were the standard field radios before the new SINCGARS encrypted/frequency-hopping radios came into use. The old "prick 77" radios that we carried around on our backs used a lithium battery. The radio had a vent on the battery compartment to let out explosive gases (and water if you were dumb enough to get your radio wet). If the vent became blocked the battery could explode! Ouch! Never happened to me personally, but it was legendary among RATELOs.

  5. Re:Love the quality commenting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting
    The awful truth is that improvements in battery technology will be played out during the next five years or so. When battery technology can be taken no further, you will be getting maybe 15 percent to 20 percent more energy than you do now from your battery.

    Battery technology can be taken no further??????? Haven't they learned to never make predictions like that!

  6. Re:Warnings from Sony... by Meowing · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Well... the infamous burning PowerBook LiIon batteries were made by Sony, so make of it what you will...

  7. there are some risks by rebelcool · · Score: 2, Interesting

    some cheap third party batteries leave out short circuit prevention circuitry. If you short one of these batteries out and it doesnt have that circuitry, it will rapidly overheat and likely blow.

    There could be other risks involved with different chemical formulas as well. Recall the blown capacitor debacle a year ago or so where the one cheap taiwanese company left out the ingredients to make the electrolyte in capacitors not create hydrogen gas. Gas build-ups blew out capacitors on many devices and motherboards (including a Soltek I owned at the time).

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