We are all in danger, each of us contains at home (in our pocket, at work) portable bombs that can cause serious harm, even death. And it's all about the dangerous battery assembly technology, which has become the standard for the whole world and does not frighten society at all.
Li-ion battery
Today we all use a lot of different devices and technical innovations based on lithium-ion batteries. This is a type of electric battery that differs from other similar energy carriers in its versatility, high energy density and unpretentiousness in terms of maintenance.
Despite their positive characteristics, such batteries pose a certain threat. These types of batteries can explode, damage or destroy property, and worse, cause serious injury or death.
Nevertheless, lithium-ion batteries are widely used in various areas of human life. This type of energy carrier can be found in cars, airplanes, and most importantly, in smartphones andtablets that the majority of people use daily, on an ongoing basis. Roughly speaking, as mentioned above, all modern society carries explosive devices with them, which can be activated in the event of an oversight, by unfortunate accident or due to the negligence of the manufacturer.
Possible causes of battery explosion
Lithium batteries have been tested by time and are considered relatively safe if all the manufacturer's recommendations are followed, but how often does anyone even ask for a manual? Any violation can lead to sad consequences. For example, a sudden change in temperature, which is one of the most common reasons batteries fail. In this case, the lithium-ion battery starts to produce gas, the battery becomes much puffier, in rare cases, a leak can be detected. Both of these symptoms are a reason to immediately stop using the device, disconnect the battery and dispose of it properly. In addition to changing thermal conditions, there are a number of other common causes that lead to battery explosions to focus on.
Physical impact and artisanal repairs
Any damage, bending or impact can cause the battery to overheat, causing an explosion. The same goes for punctures that often accompany repairs.
“Jacks of all trades” often resort to repairing anything and everything without seeking help from professionals. Maybe,new experiences are great, people develop their skills and save money, but when it comes to lithium batteries, you should forget about your “skill”, because you can’t disassemble and repair lithium-ion batteries. The same applies to small "tents" located in shopping centers and responsible for the repair of various kinds of electronics.
Overdischarge and wear
As ironic as it may sound, even if left alone, a lithium-ion battery is still dangerous, as it can use up a critical mass of charge. Usually in such cases, the battery simply fails and ceases to function, but human stupidity and courage has no limits. There have been many attempts to bring a completely dead battery back to life by simply charging it (with or without a functioning device). In both cases, the battery can close, instantly heat up to combustion temperature and ignite.
Just like an old cabinet can fall apart at any moment, an old battery can overheat. As it is used, it wears out, loses volume, and certain parts are damaged. The time will come when physical changes in the battery will require replacement.
Galaxy Note 7 scandal
The most global battery collapse (in the mobile device market) occurred in 2016, along with the release of a smartphone from Samsung. Until the now iconic date, a phone battery explosion was perceived as rare,unlikely accident. In the summer of 2016, when more than 35 explosions of Galaxy Note 7 smartphones were reported in the media within a week, everything changed.
Note 7, by the way, was perceived very positively, the device pleased absolutely everyone, but, trying to overtake competitors, Samsung miscalculated and seriously substituted. By early September, officials from the Korean company announced that they were launching a global campaign to return defective gadgets. The phones were offered to be exchanged for the same model, but allegedly from a new batch. In less than a couple of days, the situation repeated itself with a new scope. People began to turn to Samsung even more often, cars began to burn, property deteriorated, people suffered, getting serious burns. At some point, the Koreans gave up, having decided to stop selling and assembling the phone.
Causes of problems with Galaxy Note 7
More than six months later, as of January 2017, the company did not give any clear comments on the incident. Many analysts and people familiar with the company's activities say that the company's engineers are unable to reproduce the explosion in the laboratory.
Independent organizations tend to believe that the explosion is due to problems with the power controller. The complex (dense) design of the smartphone, which includes a curved display, provoked the contact of two parts of the battery: the cathode and the anode, which, in turn, led to excessive heating. The lithium battery is always striving forrise in temperature, this is normal, but the manufacturer should have taken care that at some point, the smartphone was deprived of power. Unfortunately, this did not happen. And, no matter how careful users were with their Samsung, the battery explosion has become a massive problem affecting everyone without exception.
Consequences for the company
To understand how such an incident turned out for the company, it is enough to put yourself in their place. What will the consumer think about a product that suddenly became a laughing stock and a threat to life? Likely to be avoided. But one thing is a reputation that exists today, tomorrow it doesn't exist, and the day after tomorrow it exists again, another thing is real facts. The company suffered losses, and quite serious and tangible for the mobile division - 22 billion dollars. Phones were remotely prevented from charging to avoid further explosions.
Currently the phone is out of production, the company is investigating, and we can only hope that the explosion of the Samsung Note 7 battery will serve as a lesson to Koreans that will make them stronger.
Cases of iPhone explosions
Despite its special position in the smartphone market and the minimum level of marriage, even an "apple" smartphone can turn into an impromptu bomb. One of the most recent cases was the explosion of a novelty from Apple, the iPhone 7 smartphone, which one of the fans allegedly ordered on the Internet, and received an already undermined gadget.
No confirmationregarding the spontaneous combustion of the iPhone did not follow, and this case was attributed to the usual inflation of rumors. Luckily for new California smartphone owners, the iPhone battery explosion was just one of the few caused by misuse (in this case, excessive physical impact) rather than a massive problem.
Other reported cases of iPhone explosions were the result of a short circuit caused by a third party charger.
How to avoid an explosion?
The easiest thing any user can do is to look at the instructions at least once in their life and find out how dangerous the battery in a smartphone is and what kind of care it requires.
You should always observe the temperature regime accurately, do not leave your smartphone in direct sunlight for too long. You cannot remove the battery yourself in smartphones where this option is not provided by the manufacturer (we are talking about gadgets with a monolithic body).
Give preference to devices that have at least some name, time-tested, avoid impulsive purchase of the most "top" new products.
The main thing is to understand that the explosion of a lithium battery is real and very dangerous, if possible, do not leave gadgets charging unattended, who knows at what point the technology will fail and a fire will happen.
What's next?
Now in terms of technology lithiumBatteries are the cheapest yet most energy efficient option for mobile devices and other electronics. Naturally, this type of battery is still a priority.
Nuclear batteries may come to replace lithium batteries. Despite its terrible name, this type of battery is completely harmless to humans, and the gadget will allow you to live on a single charge many times longer than now. Unfortunately, development in this area is rather slow and progress is not expected in the near future. Perhaps the explosion of the Samsung Note 7 battery will not be in vain and will force IT engineers to hurry up.
