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More Exploding Cellphones In The News
adityapandey writes "It's happened again. Yahoo News has another story on exploding cellphones. Most of these mishaps are blamed on counterfeit batteries and chargers. Recently, Kyocera recalled about 40,000 cellphones for free replacement, because of batteries overheating and venting superheated gases. Yet, cellphone makers claim that such incidents are too rare to care about. Shouldn't cellphone companies be making people aware of the hazards of usage?"
TSA completes calculation (2+2) and determines cell phone and computer batteries pose a greater threat aboard planes than boxcutters of nail clippers. Well maybe not yet, but if trends continue, perhaps. In this article we read of exploding batteries and increasing power density. "If you're cramming more and more power in a small space, what you're making is a small bomb," said Carl Hilliard...
Exploding batteries have already caused disruption at LAX.
The subject of potential weapons on planes has been beat to death, but the battery angle is still interesting. Especially when you consider that a weapons intimidation power is more a function of public perception than killing power. The more press exploding batteries receive, the greater the perceived danger. Never mind that a torn beer can can do more damage.
Now I'm the grandest Tiger in the Jungle!
Lithium ion batteries, so popular for their power density, are inherently unstable if they are overcharged or become too hot (about 140 F is the threshold). As a spokesperson for one battery maker said "When you heat this material up, it (can) reach an onset temperature that begins to self-heat and progresses into fire and explosion." One battery company claims to make a "safe" battery that uses phosphates, not cobalt oxides in its lithium ion. They even have a video demonstration that we can slashdot.
Two wrongs don't make a right, but three lefts do.
Warranties mean that if there is a problem, exchange for a working item. Defective is only applied when there is something fundamentally wrong with the item itself. Such as those hard drives that had a 33% failure rate in the first year about two years ago. 4.88 10E-7 is a lower failure rate than I have had with bad DVDs. (4 disks bad, ~300 Disks bought, 1.3percent failure).
Fly me to the moon Let me sing among those stars Let me see what spring is like On jupiter and mars
I work at a cell-phone store, and you would not believe what people do to their phones. I have seen phones get hot, vent hot gas, catch fire, bulge and almost pop, etc. In each case, it was because of something the customer had done to damage their phone. Usually, it's water damage, teenie bopper kids taking their phone into the shower cuz they can't miss that one important call. Or, even more benignly, (is that a Bushism?) if you have a little bit of drippings in your car's cupholder, and throw the phone in there when you get in the car, guess where the charging circuitry is located? Usually in the bottom of the phone. So, the next time you go plug your phone in, instead of the beautifully complex current-limiting charging circuit, you have yesterday's mocha providing a dead short.. BOOM. Please, PLEASE look to the stupid masses for the cause BEFORE blaming the manufacturers. I know there are bad designs out there, but 99.999999999 times out of a hundred, it's the idiots using them everyday. really. (flame suit on)
A BIG notice on all phones here in the UK say "Use of non original Batteries can cause damage or fire".
Yet most people turn around and say the words "lock in" and buy cheap of the back of the lorry specials, and wonder why they have problems.
Mobile phone batteries are not simple. The cells can release flamable gas if not used properly, and if overcharged can cause leakage, or damage.
It is unreasonable to accuse the Phone Manufacturers for faulty third party products, when they clearly warn against their usage.
Some manufacturers like Ericsson go one step futher.
Ericsson incorporate a special curicuitry that if the battery is not original or licensed, it would use a much lower power to charge the battery, to avoid overheating due to sub par components.
and for those who argue about Lock In, I have a T68 phone which still uses its original battery. My frined who poo pooed the disclaimer bought third party batteries and is has had to replace the batteries 3 times.
Secondly, All ericsson batteries have a temperature sensor built in. The phoen can monitor the temperature of the battery and cut power shoudl anything dodgy be happening. Anyone who has a Ericsson phone (T68/T610/T630 except the Pxxx series) can test this by getting the Float Mobile Agent software and linking to the phone, where you will be able to read the temperature of the battery as well as the phone.
Point being, manufacturers have done all they can to limit the issues with this, and cellphones are still relatively safe.
Have a nice day!
Lithium Polymer (Li-Poly)
Cells can be bought here:
http://www.hobby-lobby.com/kokam.htm
Thier light weight and high energy density makes them an excelent choice for electric R/C planes and hellis.
Ripped from some random website:
The newest and most advanced technology for cellular phone batteries. This brand new chemistry of battery allows for the most compact cells available. Li-Poly batteries are extremely light and in most cases very thin allowing for the highest battery life for the size. Lithium Polymer batteries share all of the benefits of Li-Ion plus can last up to twice as long.
Narrator: A new car built by my company leaves somewhere travelling at 60 mph. The rear differential locks up. The car crashes and burns with everyone trapped inside. Now, should we initiate a recall? Take the number of vehicles in the field, A, multiply by the probable rate of failure, B, multiply by the average out-of-court settlement, C. A times B times C equals X. If X is less than the cost of a recall, we don't do one.
Business woman on plane: Are there a lot of these kinds of accidents?
Narrator: You wouldn't believe.
Business woman on plane: Which car company do you work for?
Narrator: A major one.
Here's two real life examples of this kind of thinking Ford and Chevrolet. In both these cases the car manufacturer knew about the problems but figured it was cheaper to pay out any court cost rather than fix the problem.
Saying Apple is better than MS is like saying Botulism is better than rabies.
I'd take those odds. If you think 1 in 500,000 is a realistic chance, I have some lottery tickets I'd like to sell you.
If anyone is familiar with the show in the US called "Myth Busters" they did this exact thing. They tried and tried to get the thing to explode to no avail...so they put it in a plexi-glass like container and filled it with a mix of gas fumes and oxygen and called the cell, STILL NO explosion. the only damn way THEY could get the thing to go off was to put an actual spark in the chamber with it.
:)
There are *so* many things that can go wrong with cellphones that if I were to see one exploding I'd first ask "what was the condition of the phone prior to the explosion?" People are STUPID...I used to do tech support, I KNOW this
Asmodeus
Your mind is like a parachute. It works best when it's been opened.
>By the way, the odds of getting hit by an asteroid have been calculated at 1 in 20,000.
Interesting. I read that 6 people have been hit by a meteorite since 1775. And what is a meteorite but an asteroid that manages to hit the Earth before being totally burned up.
Assuming that more than 120,000 people have died since 1775, I would say that the statistics are wrong.
Maybe that is just the figure the insurance companies use in order to justify charging me more for insurance.
If you are not allowed to question your government then the government has answered your question.
Strictly, technically speaking, batteries do not "explode". There are no explisives in a LiIon battery, i.e. there's noting that can "explode". The technical term for the process is "venting". Pressure builds in the hard-cased battery and eventially it vents through holes specifically provided for this purpose (thes holes are called "vents"). Unfortunately, in a hard-cased battery venting occurs without any observable warning and when the internal gas pressure is rather high and, which creates a loud sound. In some cases it can also be accompanied with expulsion of hot and/or burning electrolyte. It is expected that general public will prefer to refer to this process as an "explosion". The article says the covering vent holes can lead to this "explosion". That's pure nonsense. Vent holes in the battery have no other function but to provide an exit path for internal gases during venting, i.e. when it is already too late.