Why do cell phone batteries explode?

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          Ever since the inception of battery technology in 1700's, we must admit that there hasn't been much of a revolutionary breakthrough to account for even after almost 300 years. Batteries have only been re-engineered by either shrinking, using different electrodes or by packing them differently. The amount of energy that is produced by fossil fuels is much more compared to the electric batteries, the reason why they need to be more tightly packed  to increase the efficiency making them more vulnerable and dangerous.
             These days, Lithium-ion batteries are widely used in the modern electric devices like cellphones and vehicles like cars and even airplanes. Let's see how these Lithium-ion batteries function.



        A Lithium-ion battery is ideally a cluster of smaller cells closely packed together. Each cell has a Cathode made of pure Lithium Oxide and an Anode made of Graphite embedded between Aluminium and Copper plates. Between the electrodes is an electrolyte layer that has a separator which is permeable for Lithium ions. This electrolyte must be extremely pure for high efficiency. The electrical current reaches the cells via the two conducting plates. While charging, the Lithium ions flow from the Cathode to the Anode through the separator and while discharging, they flow back from the Anode to the Cathode.



     Higher quality, formulations and purity of the material lead to a greater performance and longevity of the battery.

So why do batteries catch fire? 

      During manufacturing of these batteries there is no full-proof guarantee for the consistency in the quality of the materials used, purity or even the spacing between the cells etc which leads to a short circuit or a rupture of the batteries. It could also be due to a defective design. Eventhough it's highly unlikely, there have been incidences when the Japanese airplane Boeing 787 almost caught fire, laptops and smartphones catching fire or exploding have been reported quite often. Shrinking the batteries and packing them tightly has become necessary to provide more power output for the ever demanding consumers but at the same time we must also realize that we are carrying around a potential bomb in our pockets.

    For instance, in the movie Knight and Day, we have seen how disastrous an unstable battery like Zephyr can be. No, I'm not talking about goons chasing Simon, I'm talking about the massive explosion at the end which annihilates an entire chopper. Might be exaggerated, but you get the picture!

    While we have seen instances lately of how we are going back to charging our phone batteries using organic electrodes like potato or lemons, it's always a good idea to check the battery health of your phones using Battery monitor apps which are widely available in the stores. Please be worried if your battery heats up regularly while charging or discharging and DO NOT compromise your safety when it comes to these miniature mobile bombs.

Image courtesy: newsavalanche.com

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