OT: Lowest-power small server solutions

Scott> But don't lithium batteries contain just lithium, which is all Scott> gone by the time the battery discharges? No. I don't know the battery chemistry (actually, I'm pretty sure there are at least 2 or 3 different ones). But as a rule, a battery contains 3 parts: two electrodes, and an electrolyte. One electrode is consumed as the battery discharges, the other is inert. The electrolyte carries electrons and ions around, and participates in the consuming. In a classic carbon/zinc battery, the cathode is zinc, which is consumed; the anode is a carbon rod; and the electrolyte is some sort of acidic paste. Also, the cathode material isn't "all gone" when the battery is discharged. Some of it is generally left in its original form. And the rest is still around in another form, for example ions in the electrolyte (i.e., a metal salt). Usually it's the electrolyte you have to worry about, since that's almost by definition a caustic material. In some cases, like lithium batteries, you *also* have to worry about the cathode material since that is rather reactive, and flammable. paul