I'm sure everyone reading this has at some point read a horror story in the press or seen a report on the news regarding to gadgets like a laptop case that when lithium batteries are charged up rapidly or repeatedly, small lithium dendrites start to form on the carbon anodes which then causes short circuits. These are then responsible for the devices rapidly overheating and thus catching on fire.
The scientists at Cambridge University, which is one of the worlds leading seats ofeducation used Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (NMR) to see how the dendrites formed inside of the lithium batteries. This technique is normally used to identify elements in molecules.
Thanks to using NMR they can actually take a peek inside of the batteries and see the changes that take place in real time whilst the battery is being used. Prior to this they relied on things such as theoretical models or optical as well as scanning electron microscopes to study via the dendrites. I know NMR has now represented a major leap forward in this field of study.
Thanks to the research carried out at the University they can see what conditions cause the problem and know manufactures can start to address the problem and produces far safer models for the consumer market.
One ofthe Professors at Cambridge, Clare Grey, was quoted as saying, "These dead lithium fibres have been a significant impediment to the commercialisation of new generations of higher capacity batteries"
She continued, "safety must be solved before we can get to the next generation of lithium-ion batteries and before we can safely use these batteries in a wider range of transport applications. Now that we can monitor dendrite formation inside batteries, we can identify when they are formed and under what conditions. Our new method should allow researchers to identify which conditions lead to dendrite formation and to rapidly screen potential fixes to prevent the problem. "
Thanks to this research we should now start to see vastly improved batteries on the market that are safe to useand will no longer present a possible fire hazard.
To fight a lithium actually requires a specialist fire extinguisher control key known commonly as an L2 which is designed specifically to tackle such a blaze safely. Metal fires are in actual fact extremely dangerous and notoriously hard to fight.
Any scientific or industrial environment using metals such as lithium or magnesium need to be properly protected with extinguishers such as the L2 or M28. They work by using special applicators and powders designed to safely tackle the metals involved.
In your home you should also ensure you are protected and a standard ABC powder model extinguisher control key should be sufficient.
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