After Dell and Apple, Toshiba is now too issueing a massive recall of Sony-made laptop batteries. The batteries, used in Dynabook and Dynabook Satellite laptops manufactured between March and May this year, could fail on the road because of problems with storing and transmitting power, Toshiba spokesman Keisuke Ohmori said. The total of recalled Sony batteries is now about 6.5 million. Even airlines have prohibited the use of Dell and Apple laptops in-flight.
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Member since:2005-08-08
Fire danger with batteries can happen during charging and/or discharging.
While I don't advise you to try this, have you ever purposely shorted the terminals of a 9 volt battery? It will get hot rather quickly. Probably not hot enough to start a fire. But, hot enough to get your attention.
As I understand the Sony battery situation, their batteries can short, internally. Those batteries store a considerable amount of energy compared to the 9 volt example above.
Your risk of fire with an internally shorted battery is a very real possibility and I can understand the airlines reasoning for banning the use of affected laptops until the problem is resolved.
Member since:2005-09-21
I actually make 9v batteries (well run a machine that makes them) and they can catch fire quite easily, and not very easy to put out, and add in the fact that many laptop batteries use lithium,, the soft metal is very very reactive to water, and many materials used commonly in fires are rendered useless, unless you have so much of it that you can completely smother it. and the normal deactivation barrier most batteries (such as a 9v's wall of wax/anything that would melt and seal off a shorted battery) have, cannot be used as heavily in a laptop battery because of size concerns, (think shiek before safety) so I am with you on that, ive delt with enough fires at work, I dont want to deal with them when im on an airplane, kudos to airliners for taking action.
Member since:
2005-07-11
I thought the danger of fire is when the batteries are connected to the charger being charged. On an airplane, I don't think that is possible. Maybe first class, but I wouldn't know about that.