All major players in the power tool industry now have Lithium Ion 18V and 36V options. The increased high power has enabled them to come out with cordless varieties of some tools for the first time.
As far as heat, the batteries will not explode if left in a car. Cobalt Oxide batteries go into thermal runaway at about 190C - well over the boiling point of water. Other chemistries such as Li-manganese cathodes go into thermal runaway at 250C. They all have issues at low temperatures and cannot take or release a full charge below 0C. However, it is relatively straightforward to use a trickle charge to slowly heat up the battery above 0C and then get full power - takes about 5 minutes extra at the most.
Of all the battery chemistries, Lithium is the least toxic and can be thrown into Landfills. However, the metal, although abundant, still has value in recycling so I would expect greater than 90% to be recycled.
I used to design E85 and gasoline fuel systems and now I work on Li-ion batteries. Gas tanks do not blow up contrary to Hollywood's depiction. The vapor is too rich to burn even when a spark is ignited. If you shoot a bullet at a gas tank it leaks. A second spark after leakage could ignite. E85 is actually combustible at certain temperatures in the fuel tank. We had to invent a flame arrestor for the fill pipe which would quench a flame as it heads down the fill pipe. This is for idiots who smoke when they fill a tank.
As for Lithium batteries, they do need to be protected by electronic circuitry and mechanical enclosures but no more so than a fuel tank. If you shoot a bullet through it, they could produce a thermal runaway (fire). But if someone is shooting at you, you have bigger concerns.
Net is we need to move cars off of Saudi oil and onto our grid, then we can have independent discussions on how we power our grid. In CA, we are ~ 50% renewable. Search for eGrid and you will find data that supports the fact that burning coal and natural gas in power plants is many times more clean than in cars, 2-stroke weedwackers, and other gas applications.
These batteries do require several levels of protection circuits and thermal management but its no where near the challenge of containing 22 gallons of the most highly combustible fluid on earth. Also Lithium, unlike Nickel-Cadmium and Nickel Metal Hydride batteries, is not a toxin.
Commercializing Li-ion batteries takes investment and American engineering know-how. False perceptions about safety hurdles are not helpful.
Since we are quoting Bruce: "The Doors open but the ride it ain't free"
Check out Science and Engineering Indicators 2006 and NSF.gov/statistics. It is quite interesting that throughout this thread the data does not support many of the claims. There are a large number of immigrants in our PHD programs but they are staying here for the most part. The trend is not that they are returning home with their new-found ideas. Federal spending continues to grow contrary to the prevailing thought that research funding is being slashed. The real challenge is the "Valley of Death" - the point at which Basic Science is complete and start-ups or corporations need to license the findings and invest their cash.
This is not true. Look at the NSF.gov statistics. There was a 5.6% increase in 2005 and a 7.6% increase in 2004 in Federal research expenditures. It is now up to $45Billion.
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As far as heat, the batteries will not explode if left in a car. Cobalt Oxide batteries go into thermal runaway at about 190C - well over the boiling point of water. Other chemistries such as Li-manganese cathodes go into thermal runaway at 250C. They all have issues at low temperatures and cannot take or release a full charge below 0C. However, it is relatively straightforward to use a trickle charge to slowly heat up the battery above 0C and then get full power - takes about 5 minutes extra at the most.
Of all the battery chemistries, Lithium is the least toxic and can be thrown into Landfills. However, the metal, although abundant, still has value in recycling so I would expect greater than 90% to be recycled.
As for Lithium batteries, they do need to be protected by electronic circuitry and mechanical enclosures but no more so than a fuel tank. If you shoot a bullet through it, they could produce a thermal runaway (fire). But if someone is shooting at you, you have bigger concerns.
Net is we need to move cars off of Saudi oil and onto our grid, then we can have independent discussions on how we power our grid. In CA, we are ~ 50% renewable. Search for eGrid and you will find data that supports the fact that burning coal and natural gas in power plants is many times more clean than in cars, 2-stroke weedwackers, and other gas applications.
These batteries do require several levels of protection circuits and thermal management but its no where near the challenge of containing 22 gallons of the most highly combustible fluid on earth. Also Lithium, unlike Nickel-Cadmium and Nickel Metal Hydride batteries, is not a toxin. Commercializing Li-ion batteries takes investment and American engineering know-how. False perceptions about safety hurdles are not helpful. Since we are quoting Bruce: "The Doors open but the ride it ain't free"
Check out Science and Engineering Indicators 2006 and NSF.gov/statistics. It is quite interesting that throughout this thread the data does not support many of the claims. There are a large number of immigrants in our PHD programs but they are staying here for the most part. The trend is not that they are returning home with their new-found ideas. Federal spending continues to grow contrary to the prevailing thought that research funding is being slashed. The real challenge is the "Valley of Death" - the point at which Basic Science is complete and start-ups or corporations need to license the findings and invest their cash.
This is not true. Look at the NSF.gov statistics. There was a 5.6% increase in 2005 and a 7.6% increase in 2004 in Federal research expenditures. It is now up to $45Billion.