I figure this is likely good enough to spinoff here.

Quote:
Apparently there has been 'documented 339 cases of lithium and lithium-ion batteries for portable electronics overheating, emitting smoke and fumes or exploding since 2003'. On top of that, the FAA has documented 60 incidents since 1991.

I'm debating if the problem is really increasing faster then the adoption rate of lithium ion, or if this is just due to the increased presence of these devices everywhere. Laptops exploding are in the news quite a bit these days, and my own MacBook Pro just had a battery recall issued. On Twit, Dvorak has theorized the increase in incidents is due to shoddy battery cells being sold in China and integrated into many laptop batteries. Should things like this be a reason for US manufacturers to pull battery production out of China?

Also, for my own curiosity, is there any measurable increase in problems between lithium ion and the older nickel based batteries?

Yes. Lithium is an alkali metal like sodium.

Is it the same form as the lithium powder/shaving/solid that explodes when you add water like in highschool chemistry? (Ok we didn't get to use lithium but sodium was the same idea!)

I'm aware of why lithium causes such a reaction in some situations, just not why it seems to be a huge concern recently for laptop batteries.

Dell just expanded their recall to cover over 4 million batteries shipped. More info at their site: http://dellbatteryprogram.com/ . This includes a few models I believe other empeg owners have, including Mark. My 9100 is not affected by this one.

Yep, it's the same lithium. while it's not as reactive as sodium, there's a great deal of chemical similarity.

The fluid in lithium cells is frequently inflammable; lithium has a very high energy density and can release energy quickly if not controlled; lithium batteries have a very specific charging pattern; the battery has a whole is much more vulnerable to heat than nickel-based batteries; and as it discharges it lets off heat. The normal operating conditions aren't unreasonable, but it's not hard to manipulate a Li battery into a state outside them.

For lots of small reasons that taken together, the tolerances for components and manufacturing are not as forgiving, and the overall quality of the battery is caught between the cheapest price and the minimum requirements of the vendor.

One possible failure scenerio is that the battery is cheaply made, and leaks. The ventilation around the battery is adequate but not excessive. The heat from the charging or discharging is enough to ignite the fluid. The heat from the combustion just makes things worse.

Stuff like that.

There is an article in the Toronto Star today about laptop batteries on planes.

baseline informatik:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium_ion_battery

Now I know more about Li-Ion batteries!

Wired has an article titled When Lithium-Ion Batteries Go Bad