mas24 Loc: Southern CA

John B. Goodenaugh, M. Stanley Whittingham, and Akira Yoshino, were all awarded jointly. The Nobel Prize in Chemistry, for their development of lightweight lithium-on batteries. How many of us don't have this type of battery, in many of our devices, such as cameras, laptops, etc? I would have provided a link to this New York Times story, dated October 9, 2019. I am not a subscriber, and the link may not work more than once. Lithium-ion batteries, can be dangerous at times, if not handled safely. Remember Samsung had to recall a certain model of their Smartphones, because the batteries would explode. Not, the fault of the Prize winners. A manufacture defect, most likely.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Boy, that's a two-edged sword. I just read another article about the dangers of lithium batteries. This one was about vaping equipment on planes. There have been quite a few fires, both in luggage and in pockets. We have to find a safe replacement for lithium batteries. We know they're dangerous, yet their use is spreading. Remember asbestos? Experts knew that was bad for decades, but they kept using it. As a safe alternative to cigarettes, vaping has not made the grade, in terms of both health and overheating.

LFingar Loc: Claverack, NY

Not quite the same. The hazards of lithium-ion batteries are well known and well publicized and precautions have been put in place. There are still incidents, of course. With asbestos only a relative handful of people knew the dangers, mostly within the industry, and no one was talking. There were no precautions taken. Not at the mines, not during transportation, not during processing and not for the end-user. It was dollars over lives and the producers chose dollars. I lost friends to that type of corporate greed. I spent much of 1978 hauling load after load of asbestos from the mines in Canada to the NYC area. I was lucky. No sign of any issues, and I am checked yearly. I had some friends who weren't that lucky.

rjaywallace Loc: Wisconsin

What is your suggested solution to lithium batteries, Jerry?

mas24 Loc: Southern CA

The Samsung Smartphone, I don't recall the model, did have the battery explode in the passenger section on an Airline. When many of those models had exploding batteries, Samsung recalled all of them. Samsung made refunds towards another phone. I heard rumors that Samsung fixed the battery problem, and sold them as refurbished to other worldwide markets. I've never had a lithium-ion battery explode or catch fire. Not yet?

hcmcdole

I think even Apple had some exploding/combustible batteries a few years back so it isn't just Samsung or any other phone maker that is at issue - it was the battery design. The hover boards were the rage a couple of years ago but hastily rushed to market for Xmas sales. That was disastrous.

There have been a couple of excellent programs on PBS about lithium batteries. As with any new technology, it takes time to find all the dangers/benefits and either scrap it or design it better product.

Gasoline is explosive too, but keeping it in approved containers away from sparks/fire helps keep it as a somewhat safe, useable fuel.

I switched all our small gas motor yard tools (weed eater, mower, hedger, blower, chainsaw) to 56V L-ion tools this year and I love them - no fueling, no oil, no pull strings = no frustration. Just charge the batteries as needed, insert battery, and a simple push button or trigger is all that is needed. This has saved us lots of time doing weekly yard chores.

Abo

36,750 people were motor vehicle fatalities in 2018... in the US.

Lithium batteries are very "friendly" when compared to motorists.

I've crunched some numbers and if my arithmetic is correct, you
guys are more than twice as likely to make an early date with
eternity in a motor car than us "down under".

I'm amazed because I reckon I'm surrounded by the worst drivers
in the world right where I live.

My math is awful, so here's the figures if someone competent
in that respect would like to check my result.

US population 2018: 327,200,000. US vehicular fatalities 2018: 36,750.
Au population 2018: 25,010,000. Au vehicular fatalities 2018: 1,146.

I should add; just about every one here has a car... many houses down
here look like car sale lots.

LFingar Loc: Claverack, NY

A number of factors to consider, such as traffic density. A more accurate comparison would be fatalities per vehicle mile driven. What that would be for the two countries, I have no idea. I do know that our kangaroo/car fatality rate is much lower then yours though!

Abo

Of course you are right fatalities/mile would be better... but I don't have that data;
and it's hard to image that you drive considerably more than twice as far as us.

It would be great to know what the confounding factor is.

And I reckon it would be bad news hitting a moose... I'm
guessing a moose has more sense than, to jump in front
of or drop down in front of a car like kangaroos do though.

LFingar Loc: Claverack, NY

I would suspect that population density and the resulting traffic density play a big part in the statistic. I have driven for literally hundreds of miles on interstates in bumper-to-bumper traffic at 75, 80, 85 mph. All it takes is one mistake. Plus, in today's world, with so many idiots distracted by their cellphones it's a wonder more people aren't dying. I would question if you have the cellphone coverage in many parts of Australia, and the resulting ability for idiots to be distracted by them, as we do. While there are dead spots overall coverage is near total here. Hopefully, you have been spared that 'convenience'.
The moose here are just as stupid as your kangaroos when it comes to motor vehicles. In 25 yrs as a trucker I've seen just about every animal possible come out on the highway. Including moose. A friend of mine had the 3000lb Cummins engine of his Kenworth shoved halfway into the cab by a moose. They can be lethal.

russelray Loc: La Mesa CA

However, too many people confuse "lithium-ion" and "lithium" batteries. If one means "lithium-ion,"
the "-ion" should never be left off. They are not the same. While all lithium-ion batteries are lithium batteries, not all lithium batteries are lithium-ion batteries. More about lithium batteries here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium_battery

As an aside, I had the pleasure of shaking hands and eating dinner with John Goodenough in 1984 when he visited Texas A&M University as part of the Industry-University Cooperative Chemistry Program (IUCCP),
a 9-day symposium with Nobel laureates and future laureates presenting papers. I was working for the Department of Chemistry, College of Science, and University Press at the time, and editor of the IUCCP Symposium Proceedings. Goodenough was head of the Inorganic Chemistry Department at University of Oxford, and both Texas A&M and University of Texas at Austin were courting him to bring him home to the United States. A couple of years later, the University of Texas at Austin would convince him to return. He now is 97 and was still working at UT in 2017, age 94. Not sure if he still is working or has finally retired.

Bison Bud

The dangers of Lithium Ion batteries has been a hot topic lately. However, there are similar dangers with every rechargable battery ever made! The biggest problems and danger is in overcharging and or short circuiting. The long term environmental impact is also a big concern, as most rechargables contain some toxic metals, or chemicals, etc.

Anyway, all rechargable batteries get hot when they reach their maximum charge and this heat is what generally causes problems as well as shortens the serviceable life of these batteries. This danger increases with the current level supplied by the charger (ie. a trickle charge is far safer than a rapid charge). If these batteries get hot enough they can burst, start fires, etc. The solution to this is to use a "Peak Sensing" charger that cuts off when the battery is fully charged. It is also a good idea to only charge these batteries on a heat/flame proof surface rather than on the night table or near anything flammable.

The other real danger is short circuiting which causes rapid, high current discharge, which can also cause such batteries to rupture or explode. The chances of this happening while installed in a device is small, but there have been instances where manufacturing defects have cause issues such as the Samsung battery recall previously mentioned. However, many people carry extra batteries that are generally fully charged. Care must be used when doing so to make sure the contacts can not become short circuited. Some sort of carrying case that holds the batteries snugly and completely covers the terminals is highly recommended, but at the very least the contacts should be taped over then individual batteries put into small plastic bags separately for transport. Putting a charged battery in one's pocket without some sort of protection is a recipe for disaster! In any case, most charging and short circuit accidents can be completely avoided with good sense and proper handling.

Lithium Ion batteries are a huge advancement in battery technology, due to their power to size ratio and they are here to stay. It is generally up to us users to use them sensibly and safely and the manufacturers need to step up their quality control to prevent issues on their end as well. Please use your batteries safely and dispose of them properly and we will all be better off now and on down the road. All in all, my cudos for a well deserved Nobel Prize!

rook2c4 Loc: Philadelphia, PA USA

Although hyped by the media, it is extremely rare that a lithium batteries explode. And in most cases, it was because a physically damaged battery was used. In other words, user error. To suggest lithium batteries are unsafe is like claiming air travel is a very risky way of getting from one city to another.

LFingar Loc: Claverack, NY

Very true. Worldwide there are approximately 100,000 commercial flights everyday but you will never see a headline such as: '100,000 flights landed safely today'. Then again, the public seemingly has little interest in good news. Disaster and mayhem is what sells newspapers and airtime. The media is just catering to the market.
Battery incidents of any kind are extremely rare considering their nearly universal usage but the public just loves a good horror story.

DTCOP Loc: Camarillo, CA

My Rotolite uses them... should I worry or put the fire department on auto-dial. Any replacement suggestions BTW... love the light... very versatile