Like cell phone batteries, Tesla batteries, electric bikes and so on have potential battery issues but not your triple/double A batteries?
In: 5
A regular double A doesn’t contain lithium. Lithium is a very reactive metal. When exposed to air it reacts and creates a lot of heat, causing other stuff to heat up. In a typical Li Ion cell, there’s an electrolyte, which can boil off and cause an explosion. Also, in contact with water, which is also in the air, hydrogen can be formed, which in the right mixture with oxygen, can also be explosive.
Basically it boils down to something called “thermal runaway.” Batteries heat up when they’re discharging. It’s a fact of physics, you can’t get away from it. Most chemical reactions also occur more rapidly when warmer than they do when cooler.
Lithium based batteries store a lot of energy. If the energy is extracted too fast they heat up enough that they will start *spontaneously* reacting and releasing even more energy, which has nowhere to go except hot. And now the battery is even hotter which makes it even easier to react. And now your battery is on fire.
Regular old AA/AAA batteries don’t hold much power for their mass and the chemistry isn’t nearly as prone to thermal runaway. They’re more likely to have seals fail and just leak acid.
AA & AAA batteries can explode but mostly due to improper usage or storage especially expired and corroded units.
But because they are weaker batteries and material it won’t be as explosive as a car or computer battery.
Also they are not widely used anymore which equals not many instances for it to explode or you hearing about any issues.
AA & AAA batteries can explode but mostly due to improper usage or storage especially expired and corroded units.
But because they are weaker batteries and material it won’t be as explosive as a car or computer battery.
Also they are not widely used anymore which equals not many instances for it to explode or you hearing about any issues.
A regular double A doesn’t contain lithium. Lithium is a very reactive metal. When exposed to air it reacts and creates a lot of heat, causing other stuff to heat up. In a typical Li Ion cell, there’s an electrolyte, which can boil off and cause an explosion. Also, in contact with water, which is also in the air, hydrogen can be formed, which in the right mixture with oxygen, can also be explosive.
Alkaline batteries, which include AA batteries, have way lower energy and power density.
Alkaline batteries can contain about 0.5 MJ per kg. Li Ion batteries are about 1.0 MJ per kg. So they contain about twice the energy, and are typically larger than AA batteries too.
The power density is the main thing though. Alkaline batteries have a high internal resistance, and only deliver the total rated energy if it is done at 0.1C, or over 10 hours.
Meanwhile, while it varies a lot, there are plenty of lithium ion batteries that will happily deliver at up to 50C or more, meaning a complete discharge in less than *one minute*. That’s 500 times the discharge rate of an alkaline battery. They can deliver massive amounts of power.
If Li Ion batteries are abused, they can form internal “dendrites”. That’s basically growths of metal. These can act as a wire, short circuiting the battery internally. That lets **all** the power out almost instantly. Meanwhile, the alkaline battery simply can’t deliver energy that fast so there’s less drama.
Basically it boils down to something called “thermal runaway.” Batteries heat up when they’re discharging. It’s a fact of physics, you can’t get away from it. Most chemical reactions also occur more rapidly when warmer than they do when cooler.
Lithium based batteries store a lot of energy. If the energy is extracted too fast they heat up enough that they will start *spontaneously* reacting and releasing even more energy, which has nowhere to go except hot. And now the battery is even hotter which makes it even easier to react. And now your battery is on fire.
Regular old AA/AAA batteries don’t hold much power for their mass and the chemistry isn’t nearly as prone to thermal runaway. They’re more likely to have seals fail and just leak acid.
Alkaline batteries, which include AA batteries, have way lower energy and power density.
Alkaline batteries can contain about 0.5 MJ per kg. Li Ion batteries are about 1.0 MJ per kg. So they contain about twice the energy, and are typically larger than AA batteries too.
The power density is the main thing though. Alkaline batteries have a high internal resistance, and only deliver the total rated energy if it is done at 0.1C, or over 10 hours.
Meanwhile, while it varies a lot, there are plenty of lithium ion batteries that will happily deliver at up to 50C or more, meaning a complete discharge in less than *one minute*. That’s 500 times the discharge rate of an alkaline battery. They can deliver massive amounts of power.
If Li Ion batteries are abused, they can form internal “dendrites”. That’s basically growths of metal. These can act as a wire, short circuiting the battery internally. That lets **all** the power out almost instantly. Meanwhile, the alkaline battery simply can’t deliver energy that fast so there’s less drama.
It’s the chemistry.
AA and similar batteries use chemicals that are cheap and safe and good for storing energy with a long shelf life but they don’t store or deliver much energy. These batteries might heat up if shorted out but usually won’t explode or catch fire because they can’t get hot enough and there’s no physical way for them to short internally because their insides are just metal and chemical paste.
Lithium polymer and Lithium Ion batteries have a lot more energy stored in them, and can deliver a LOT more energy at once, which means they can heat up too fast and burn if they short out.
Another factor is that lithium batteries are made in layers, and the repeated chemical reaction inside can cause “dendrites” or little spikes of metal to grow between layers causing a short circuit, swelling or burning of used/abused batteries.
Lead Acid batteries (traditional car batteries) can also explode, but this is because they hold a mixture of water and acid inside. Sometimes, when charging, the water turns into hydrogen gas, which can explode if something ignites the hydrogen.
It’s the chemistry.
AA and similar batteries use chemicals that are cheap and safe and good for storing energy with a long shelf life but they don’t store or deliver much energy. These batteries might heat up if shorted out but usually won’t explode or catch fire because they can’t get hot enough and there’s no physical way for them to short internally because their insides are just metal and chemical paste.
Lithium polymer and Lithium Ion batteries have a lot more energy stored in them, and can deliver a LOT more energy at once, which means they can heat up too fast and burn if they short out.
Another factor is that lithium batteries are made in layers, and the repeated chemical reaction inside can cause “dendrites” or little spikes of metal to grow between layers causing a short circuit, swelling or burning of used/abused batteries.
Lead Acid batteries (traditional car batteries) can also explode, but this is because they hold a mixture of water and acid inside. Sometimes, when charging, the water turns into hydrogen gas, which can explode if something ignites the hydrogen.
Latest Answers