Batteries ( was Re: PDP-8 /e/f/m memory) - test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

15 Aug 2006

 --- Don <THX1138 at dakotacom.net> wrote: 
...
  O. Sharp wrote: 
...
 > snip << 
...
  ...

 > I have mini-Maglites in my toolkit - three of 'e m,
...
  and they all get use; I 
 > work in the dark a great deal, but that's anothe r
...
  story * - and recently 
  had the unpleasant surprise of having one of the
 "regular" batteries 
  corrode and die (and the batteries had been
 replaced less than a month 
  earlier). This did an _astonishingly_ effective
 job of destroying the 
 > interior of the Maglite as well, the acids eatin g
...
  away the Maglite's 
  shell in a way I literally didn't think was
 possible. Defective battery? 
  Some other problem? We may never know.  
 What brand of battery?  I haven't seen a battery
 fail like this
 in decades.  Was the light stored in a harsh
 environment?

 > Whatever the cause, I'd hate to even _contemplat e_
...
  the idea of that 
 > possibly happening right next to a DEC backplane .
...

Yeah, what brand?

Have you heard (I read this today) that Dell
has been forced to RECALL 4.1 MILLION batteries
, made by Sony (haha!), from there notebook
computer thingies made from... *checks dates*
...April 2004 to July 2006!
Why? Because of a risk of "smoke and/or fire".

On a similar note, a heard of mobile phones
exploding (yes, exploding) in Japan a couple
of years ago, because they weren't using the
recommended rechargeable batteries.
Apparently, IIRC, if the batteries short out
they become VERY hot (700 degrees C?) and
explode like a grenade.
Many of the owners of said phones were
hospitalised and/or had hands/ears blown off :(

Also, after the recent hot spell (36 degrees C)
here in the UK I discovered that one of the
batteries in a remote had leaked. I put it down
to the extreme heat (in 27 years I have only
seen a battery that has leaked twice now),
as in my experience it's a rare occerance
(unless the battery is really old). 

Regards,
Andrew B
aliensrcooluk at yahoo.co.uk