: Why do lithium ion batteries explode/catch fire when they are punchered?
In: Chemistry
They don’t. The problem with lithium ion batteries is a phenomenon called Thermal Runaway. A lithium ion battery needs to be heated up to catch fire but it doesn’t take as much heat as a person would assume and unlike a conventionally flammable material like paper or even oily rags, a lithium battery undergoes chemical changes when heated that make it hotter in and of themselves and also release a lot of oxygen, which is one of the vital components of combustion.
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