Smart Battery Tells You When It's About To Explode

sciencehabit writes Material scientists have found a clever way to alert users of damaged batteries before any hazard occurs. A typical lithium-ion cell consists of a lithium oxide cathode and a graphite anode, separated by a thin, porous polymer sheet that allows ions to travel between the electrodes. When the cell is overcharged, microscopic chains of lithium, called "dendrites," sprout from the anode and pierce through the polymer separator until they touch the cathode. An electrical current passing through the dendrites to the cathode can short-circuit the cell, which causes overheating and, in some cases, fire. Attempts to stop dendrite formation have met with limited success, so the researchers tried something different. They built a "smart" separator by sandwiching a 50-nanometer thin copper layer between two polymer sheets and connecting the copper layer to a third electrode for voltage measurement. When the dendrites reach the separator, the voltage between the anode and the copper layer drops to zero, alerting users that they should change the damaged battery while it is still operating safely—disaster averted.

Comments

It alerts the user

[Anonymous Coward]

via ticking sound, and a countdown timer. It's expected to be a big hit.

These have existed for years.

[nimbius]

Curent generation smart batteries have several systems im place to alert the user to a potentially hazardous or explosive condition in the battery.

smoke: Smart batteries emit choking, acrid fumes to quickly notify users of a problem
warmth: most smart batteries, in order to protect the user, become extremely hot when they encounter a problem. this prevents the user from touching them and in turn, functions as intended to protect the user.
deafening bang: this system, in the event of an explosion condition, emits an extraordinary noise to alert the user. its a technological signal that says, "there is a problem with the battery"
bright flash: Regular batteries have had this ability for a while, but smart batteries utilized an advanced system of both arc flash and visible flames to alert the user of a problem.
toxic shrapnel: is a fast, immediate way of determining when a battery might be about to, or is in the process of exploding. In addition, difficult or impossible to heal wounds from rare earth metals allow the user to retrospectively verify the quality of a particular brand of battery in the future.