WEBVTT - Rechargeable Batteries: Pros and Cons 0:00:00.280 --> 0:00:02.960 Brought to you by the reinvented two thousand twelve Camray. 0:00:03.160 --> 0:00:08.920 It's ready. Are you get in touch with technology? With 0:00:09.039 --> 0:00:17.960 tech Stuff from how stuff works dot com. Hello again, everyone, 0:00:18.000 --> 0:00:20.479 Welcome to tech Stuff. My name is Chris Poulette. I 0:00:20.520 --> 0:00:23.120 am an editor here at how stuff works dot Com. 0:00:23.120 --> 0:00:26.360 Sitting across from me as always his senior writer, Jonathan Strickland. 0:00:26.440 --> 0:00:28.720 The quickest way to end a miracle is to ask 0:00:28.840 --> 0:00:33.080 why it is or what it wants. Okay, that one's 0:00:33.080 --> 0:00:35.320 a mystery to me too. I'll tell you what the 0:00:35.320 --> 0:00:38.440 source was at the end. Okay, after we've finished recording. 0:00:39.720 --> 0:00:41.639 Doesn't really give much of a challenge if I tell 0:00:41.680 --> 0:00:45.199 everybody what it came from. Uh, so we're gonna You 0:00:45.280 --> 0:00:50.400 might remember that from several episodes ago we talked about batteries. Yeah, yeah, 0:00:50.400 --> 0:00:53.199 and it's it's funny because, um what, what the listeners 0:00:53.240 --> 0:00:56.800 don't know is that beforehand, when we started comparing, uh 0:00:57.000 --> 0:00:58.800 just doing a quick comparison notes on what we were 0:00:58.800 --> 0:01:01.200 going to talk about, we realized that it was probable 0:01:01.240 --> 0:01:02.720 that we were going to go over and as it 0:01:02.720 --> 0:01:05.480 turns out, we had plenty for that and more left over. 0:01:05.600 --> 0:01:09.039 So here we are on batteries Part two. Mainly we're 0:01:09.040 --> 0:01:13.040 going to talk about rechargeable batteries and the issues around 0:01:13.040 --> 0:01:16.000 recharging batteries and some of the some of the other 0:01:16.080 --> 0:01:21.200 stories that are related to that, for example, batteries exploding. Yes, 0:01:21.680 --> 0:01:25.600 we'll get into that. So rechargeable batteries are a special 0:01:25.680 --> 0:01:30.960 kind of battery. Not all batteries are rechargeable. Well, that's true, 0:01:30.959 --> 0:01:33.840 and it isn't. That's the that's the funny thing about 0:01:34.440 --> 0:01:36.560 about the batteries. When I was doing some research on 0:01:36.680 --> 0:01:39.920 exploding batteries, um, I was reading about the thing that 0:01:39.959 --> 0:01:42.000 you're not supposed to do with alkaline batteries, which is 0:01:42.040 --> 0:01:44.280 to put them in a battery charger. The thing is 0:01:44.280 --> 0:01:47.920 about alkaline batteries. They can be recharged, but they're not 0:01:48.040 --> 0:01:51.280 designed to be and putting them in a charger will 0:01:51.600 --> 0:01:54.680 cause the cause them to start charging, and it will 0:01:55.240 --> 0:01:57.680 cause them to explode because they're not that's not the 0:01:57.680 --> 0:02:00.760 way they work. But it can happen. I mean, it's 0:02:00.800 --> 0:02:03.360 not the The rechargeable batteries, the ones that are marketed 0:02:03.440 --> 0:02:06.920 is rechargeable, are designed to be rechargeable, and therefore you 0:02:06.920 --> 0:02:09.799 can put them in a rechargeable right, So in case 0:02:09.840 --> 0:02:11.880 you don't remember. The way a battery works is that 0:02:11.880 --> 0:02:15.000 there's a chemical reaction that generates electrons. The electrons travel 0:02:15.040 --> 0:02:17.240 through a circuit and then back to the battery because 0:02:17.280 --> 0:02:20.400 because there's a negative terminal and a positive terminal. Negative 0:02:20.480 --> 0:02:23.000 terminals where the electrons are coming through. Positive terminal is 0:02:23.040 --> 0:02:26.840 where the electrons are attracted to and re enter the battery. 0:02:27.000 --> 0:02:30.440 And eventually you use up all the chemicals that are 0:02:30.480 --> 0:02:33.440 inside the battery and it becomes inert it's used up 0:02:33.440 --> 0:02:35.520 and dead. Yes, in a regular battery, that's the way 0:02:35.520 --> 0:02:38.080 it works. Now with rechargeable batteries, what you do is 0:02:38.120 --> 0:02:41.720 you reverse the flow of electrons. You create a more 0:02:41.760 --> 0:02:45.720 powerful flow of electrons that will go back the way 0:02:45.760 --> 0:02:50.200 the electrons usually come. So you're reversing the entire process, 0:02:50.320 --> 0:02:54.520 and through that reversal, you begin to reverse the chemical 0:02:54.840 --> 0:02:57.400 reactions that took place inside the battery and it goes 0:02:57.440 --> 0:03:03.399 back to its pre discharged state. Yes, well, that took 0:03:03.480 --> 0:03:06.160 took way less time than I thought it would. Um 0:03:06.240 --> 0:03:12.280 so ever, lunch, Well, that's a um a simplification of 0:03:12.320 --> 0:03:14.480 the process. Of course, it all depends on the type 0:03:14.480 --> 0:03:17.320 of battery. There are many different types of chargeable batteries, 0:03:17.680 --> 0:03:21.600 some of the most popular being lead acid, UH, nickel 0:03:21.840 --> 0:03:26.520 metal hydride nickel m I on. But you mentioned lead 0:03:26.520 --> 0:03:28.440 acid before we go a bunch further, I did want 0:03:28.440 --> 0:03:33.320 to mention that is technically the first rechargeable battery, is it. 0:03:33.320 --> 0:03:36.320 It was discovered in eighteen fifty nine. There was a 0:03:36.360 --> 0:03:42.360 French physicist, Gaston Plant and Gaston he was as smart 0:03:42.480 --> 0:03:45.600 fellow and um, yes, he didn't discover it. He opened 0:03:45.600 --> 0:03:47.240 the door one day and said, what is this thing? 0:03:47.920 --> 0:03:51.240 Someone just left this thing laying or hey, that's a 0:03:51.320 --> 0:03:54.160 lead acid battery. He actually discovered the whole process of 0:03:54.240 --> 0:03:57.680 you know, using created a lead acid battery and discovered 0:03:57.720 --> 0:04:00.920 that by reversing the flow of all atron's by forcing 0:04:00.920 --> 0:04:05.600 electrons back through, you would essentially reverse the chemical reaction. UM. 0:04:05.720 --> 0:04:09.120 Lead acid batteries, of course are very important. They're used 0:04:09.600 --> 0:04:14.160 and almost well, they're used in all gas powered vehicles, right. 0:04:14.960 --> 0:04:17.479 That's the that's the battery that your gas powered vehicle 0:04:17.600 --> 0:04:20.280 uses to draw power for things like the headlights and 0:04:20.320 --> 0:04:23.239 the radio as well as other stuff. And the interesting 0:04:23.240 --> 0:04:25.800 thing about the lead acid battery in your car is 0:04:25.800 --> 0:04:29.719 that your car actually recharges the lead acid battery. That's 0:04:29.760 --> 0:04:32.360 the way it's supposed to work. Yeah, not always right, 0:04:32.720 --> 0:04:36.480 in a properly working vehicle, your car is recharging the 0:04:36.560 --> 0:04:39.040 lead acid battery, and I conclude the batteries part of 0:04:39.080 --> 0:04:41.120 the vehicle in that case. Yeah, what happens is you 0:04:41.160 --> 0:04:43.680 have a there's a device inside your engine called the 0:04:43.720 --> 0:04:48.200 alternator inside inside lots of engines. I had my very 0:04:48.200 --> 0:04:52.000 first car had a generator in it, just slightly an alternator, right, 0:04:52.320 --> 0:04:55.919 And and also if your alternator goes out, that's awful. Yes, 0:04:56.440 --> 0:05:00.719 as my wife discovered on one evening, Yeah, that was 0:05:00.760 --> 0:05:04.559 not good. That's a highway in in the Atlanta area, 0:05:04.680 --> 0:05:07.840 better known as the Perimeter. The Perimeter is also known 0:05:07.960 --> 0:05:11.960 as the Raceway in the Atlanta area where if you're 0:05:11.960 --> 0:05:16.360 not going eighty five miles you better be dead. So anyway, 0:05:16.440 --> 0:05:22.640 the alternator recharges the battery as you drive. So that's 0:05:22.680 --> 0:05:26.000 why your car battery will last a pretty long time. Now, typically, 0:05:26.000 --> 0:05:27.719 if you were to use a lead acid battery and 0:05:27.760 --> 0:05:30.640 you weren't recharging it, it would not last that long, 0:05:30.960 --> 0:05:34.760 Like the energy would give out much more quickly than 0:05:34.800 --> 0:05:39.200 it usually does. But it is getting constantly little amounts 0:05:39.200 --> 0:05:43.280 of recharge every time you're driving it, so um. Uh. 0:05:43.960 --> 0:05:48.719 That's again, that was the first rechargeable battery that was 0:05:49.200 --> 0:05:52.279 discovered to be you know that it was the first 0:05:52.320 --> 0:05:57.240 time anyone discovered that you could reverse that chemical reaction. Um. 0:05:57.279 --> 0:05:59.680 Since then, of course, we have discovered that other materials 0:05:59.720 --> 0:06:04.120 also work really well in this uh this format, including 0:06:04.560 --> 0:06:09.560 the nickel cadmium and the lithium ion and batteries like that. Yeah. 0:06:09.680 --> 0:06:12.400 They're one of the things that's interesting about rechargeable batteries 0:06:12.480 --> 0:06:19.240 is that different rechargeable battery types are useful for different applications. Um. 0:06:19.279 --> 0:06:24.120 That's why you'll still see lead acid batteries used in cars, 0:06:24.600 --> 0:06:28.039 and you still see uh, nickel cadmium and nickel metal 0:06:28.120 --> 0:06:30.800 hydride batteries used in all kinds of things that you 0:06:30.800 --> 0:06:33.880 put double a, triple a, nine volts, etcetera. Uh in 0:06:34.240 --> 0:06:37.160 a little portable devices usually right right. And you see 0:06:37.320 --> 0:06:41.840 lithium ion batteries in electronics such as computers and portable 0:06:41.920 --> 0:06:46.680 music players and the like. The different the different properties 0:06:46.760 --> 0:06:50.279 of the batteries themselves make them appropriate to use in 0:06:50.279 --> 0:06:54.279 those different uh, different applications, right, Because depending on the 0:06:54.320 --> 0:06:56.919 materials you're using for your battery, that's what's going to 0:06:57.839 --> 0:07:01.960 determine the the actual voltage and current that's going to 0:07:02.000 --> 0:07:05.360 come from that battery. So you know, some materials are 0:07:05.400 --> 0:07:08.720 not going to be useful for certain applications because it's 0:07:08.720 --> 0:07:11.360 going to require more electricity than that battery can generate 0:07:11.440 --> 0:07:14.680 unless you were to make an enormous series of batteries, 0:07:14.720 --> 0:07:17.080 and at that point you're you're sacrificing so much in 0:07:17.160 --> 0:07:19.840 terms of weight in order to get electricity that it's wasteful. 0:07:20.400 --> 0:07:22.720 That was one of the big complaints that I remember 0:07:22.800 --> 0:07:26.040 and the nineties about the idea of electric cars. They 0:07:26.040 --> 0:07:30.160 were using lead acid batteries and as most people know, 0:07:31.240 --> 0:07:35.160 lead is extremely heavy. Um, you know, a pound of 0:07:35.200 --> 0:07:37.280 lead being equal to the weight of a pound of feathers. 0:07:37.840 --> 0:07:42.200 But nonetheless, you just blew my mind. Yeah, none. Nonetheless 0:07:42.360 --> 0:07:46.720 is anyone who has changed their car battery knows, um, 0:07:46.760 --> 0:07:48.680 other than to wear gloves while you're doing it and 0:07:48.720 --> 0:07:51.280 avoid charging it when you don't have any eye protection 0:07:51.280 --> 0:07:54.120 on and you're standing right over it. Um. They are 0:07:54.160 --> 0:07:58.000 extremely heavy because of of the lad inside, and that 0:07:58.160 --> 0:08:02.200 made a lot of the electric cars in the rather 0:08:02.240 --> 0:08:06.280 impractical because just the sheer weight of the amount of 0:08:06.360 --> 0:08:10.920 batteries needed to power a vehicle was made. It just 0:08:10.960 --> 0:08:16.280 really um, not practical at all. Yeah. UM. It wasn't 0:08:16.360 --> 0:08:19.680 until we discovered other materials that had better energy density 0:08:20.360 --> 0:08:23.520 than uh than the lead acid that that electric cars 0:08:23.520 --> 0:08:27.520 started to become h less of a of an obstacle 0:08:27.720 --> 0:08:30.960 that they used to be. Uh. Lithium ion certainly excels 0:08:30.960 --> 0:08:35.880 at that, right. Lithium ion has a very strong energy density. UM. 0:08:36.000 --> 0:08:38.480 It can generate quite a bit of electricity. And so 0:08:39.040 --> 0:08:42.160 you know, your relative to the size of another battery 0:08:42.280 --> 0:08:45.760 made out of a different material, lithium ion is uh 0:08:45.960 --> 0:08:50.000 is generates more energy essentially or more electricity, I guess 0:08:50.000 --> 0:08:54.199 I should say specifically. Now we were about to talk 0:08:54.240 --> 0:08:57.560 also about the exploding batteries. I think this kind of 0:08:57.640 --> 0:08:59.800 leads into it because people may have heard about lithium 0:08:59.800 --> 0:09:04.200 ion on batteries and having overheating issues and um, even 0:09:04.480 --> 0:09:07.760 batteries that have burst into flames or or exploded. However, 0:09:07.800 --> 0:09:11.599 you want to determine that, um. First of all, a 0:09:11.679 --> 0:09:17.280 lot of different batteries have the potential to burst into 0:09:17.280 --> 0:09:20.640 flame or explode because some of the materials inside lots 0:09:20.679 --> 0:09:23.840 of batteries happens to be flammable. I think it's safe 0:09:23.880 --> 0:09:25.480 to say it's a it's a good idea to treat 0:09:25.640 --> 0:09:29.720 the contents of batteries as hazardous. Some of them are caustic, 0:09:29.960 --> 0:09:32.720 some of them are are non toxic. But unless you 0:09:32.720 --> 0:09:35.400 happen to be intimately familiar with what's inside the can, 0:09:36.120 --> 0:09:39.720 it's better to treat it as something that will harm 0:09:39.800 --> 0:09:42.040 your skin. Uh is something you don't want to get 0:09:42.040 --> 0:09:44.680 in your eyes or nose or mouth. Um, you know, 0:09:44.760 --> 0:09:48.200 handle with care gloves and perhaps a pair of safety goggles, 0:09:48.200 --> 0:09:49.719 and you don't know exactly what it is that you're 0:09:49.720 --> 0:09:51.800 dealing and you don't want to be puncturing these things 0:09:51.880 --> 0:09:54.720 or anything like that. Don't throw batteries in the fire, right, Yeah, 0:09:54.760 --> 0:09:58.120 they there are chemicals in there that could be dangerous 0:09:58.160 --> 0:10:00.679 under different circumstances. Now, with lithium ion, that happens to 0:10:00.720 --> 0:10:04.440 be lithium, which is quite flammable as it turns out, 0:10:04.840 --> 0:10:07.480 And um, it's not just that the lithium is flammable. 0:10:07.520 --> 0:10:09.760 There are a couple of elements at play. One is 0:10:09.800 --> 0:10:12.000 that I didn't mean it that way, but anyway. One 0:10:12.040 --> 0:10:15.840 of them is that Uh. In the manufacturing process of 0:10:15.880 --> 0:10:19.280 creating a lithium ion battery, one of the byproducts within 0:10:19.320 --> 0:10:24.280 the battery are these tiny little metal particles. And depending 0:10:24.360 --> 0:10:29.119 upon how exacting the procedure is for the manufacturing process. 0:10:29.960 --> 0:10:32.640 So this really depends on the manufacturer, you know, how 0:10:32.760 --> 0:10:36.880 how careful they are, you may have more or fewer 0:10:36.960 --> 0:10:40.800 of those metal particles. A fewer would be better. UM, 0:10:40.840 --> 0:10:44.000 because what happens is as you charge the battery, or 0:10:44.040 --> 0:10:46.280 even as you use it, it starts to generate heat. 0:10:46.840 --> 0:10:49.320 It's one of the by products of this whole process. 0:10:49.360 --> 0:10:52.160 It's not just the chemical reaction. Doesn't just generate electricity, 0:10:52.200 --> 0:10:55.960 also generates heat. UM. As that heat is generated, the 0:10:56.000 --> 0:10:58.920 metal metal particles start to move around inside the lithium 0:10:58.960 --> 0:11:03.839 ion batteries. Well there's um. There's a separator inside the 0:11:03.880 --> 0:11:07.480 lithium ion batteries. If you remember in our previous batteries podcast, 0:11:07.480 --> 0:11:12.000 we talked about the anode and the cathode, and you 0:11:12.080 --> 0:11:14.600 have to have a separator between the two or else 0:11:14.640 --> 0:11:18.600 the electrons will just travel directly between the two instead 0:11:18.600 --> 0:11:21.360 of going through the circuit that you've plugged the battery into. 0:11:22.120 --> 0:11:28.280 So these little metal particles can sometimes puncture that separator 0:11:28.840 --> 0:11:32.240 and that creates a short circuit. So now the electrons 0:11:32.280 --> 0:11:35.640 can flow freely inside the battery instead of going through 0:11:35.679 --> 0:11:39.160 the circuitry like it's supposed to. And this will cause 0:11:39.160 --> 0:11:41.760 batteries to heat up much more quickly because you know, 0:11:41.840 --> 0:11:45.480 you've just you just removed that that pathway, and the 0:11:45.520 --> 0:11:48.800 electrons will move very quickly speed of light essentially UM, 0:11:48.920 --> 0:11:52.520 and the battery will heat up. And if the contents 0:11:52.600 --> 0:11:55.320 of that battery are flammable, as is the case with 0:11:55.400 --> 0:12:00.440 lithium ion batteries, the battery could burst into flame, which 0:12:00.480 --> 0:12:04.800 is spectacular and dangerous and very scary and can set 0:12:04.800 --> 0:12:08.480 your pants on fire. Yes, I actually have an article 0:12:08.559 --> 0:12:11.839 about that's setting your pants on fire. Sorry, go ahead, 0:12:11.920 --> 0:12:14.080 we do. Indeed, UM that that was essentially what I 0:12:14.080 --> 0:12:15.640 was I was going to get to was the fact 0:12:15.679 --> 0:12:19.160 that a few years ago it UM UH, this thermal 0:12:19.240 --> 0:12:23.040 runaway as it's known UM, was a big item in 0:12:23.080 --> 0:12:26.240 the news. They had discovered Uh. Sony and Apple both 0:12:26.280 --> 0:12:31.000 got blamed for batteries a few lithium ion batteries that 0:12:31.080 --> 0:12:36.160 had UM overheated and caught fire. UM. As it turned out, 0:12:36.160 --> 0:12:39.439 they came from another you know, like most computer components, 0:12:39.440 --> 0:12:43.440 they came from another manufacturer. UM. And UH, of course 0:12:43.480 --> 0:12:45.880 I think there was the whole iPod setting your pants 0:12:45.920 --> 0:12:48.560 on fire thing, which, as Jonathan mentioned, there is an 0:12:48.640 --> 0:12:50.800 article on our side about it. UM. But as it 0:12:50.800 --> 0:12:55.160 turns out, they're not these things obviously there there may 0:12:55.200 --> 0:12:58.240 have been in a lot like that, uh, defects in 0:12:58.280 --> 0:13:03.000 the manufacturing process, but in general, UM, it's very unlikely 0:13:03.040 --> 0:13:06.480 that it's going to happen. So uh, you know, I 0:13:06.840 --> 0:13:09.600 have also heard that it's possible to drop a lithium 0:13:09.640 --> 0:13:13.600 ion battery and it can cause it to UM can 0:13:13.640 --> 0:13:17.120 cause problems like that too. I would imagine it's probably 0:13:17.120 --> 0:13:19.000 the same thing if you drop it from you know, 0:13:19.200 --> 0:13:21.240 the lithium iron batteries are using a lot of power 0:13:21.240 --> 0:13:23.280 tools because it happens. I used to work for a 0:13:23.320 --> 0:13:26.640 company that sold power tools, and they said, don't drop 0:13:26.679 --> 0:13:30.480 your lithium ion batteries those toys r us right no, 0:13:31.400 --> 0:13:34.720 and uh so, although they do sell lots of lithium 0:13:34.760 --> 0:13:38.000 ion batteries, because I believe I can't remember if lithium 0:13:38.040 --> 0:13:41.800 ion or or nick um not nickel metal hydride. The 0:13:41.920 --> 0:13:43.839 lead acid are the ones that they use in the 0:13:43.920 --> 0:13:47.960 kids vehicles. I think they're lead acid that they use 0:13:48.040 --> 0:13:50.480 for wheelchairs, and that I think that's in my notes somewhere, 0:13:50.480 --> 0:13:54.040 but I'll have to stop talking and let you oh, well, 0:13:54.040 --> 0:13:57.760 that never happens. For you guys out there who were 0:13:57.760 --> 0:14:00.320 curious about the the iPod story we have and the 0:14:00.400 --> 0:14:02.560 article that we have. The article title, just so you know, 0:14:02.720 --> 0:14:06.400 is how can an iPod set your pants on fire? Literally? 0:14:06.760 --> 0:14:10.040 And it was written by Josh Dreamy Eyes Clark of 0:14:10.160 --> 0:14:13.480 stuff you should know. Um, so you should check that out. 0:14:13.600 --> 0:14:18.160 And uh, it's a good article, really good article. So yeah, 0:14:18.160 --> 0:14:22.600 there's another way that these batteries can suffer damage is 0:14:22.640 --> 0:14:25.800 through overcharging. I know we had a podcast earlier, way 0:14:25.800 --> 0:14:27.480 way way back in the day where we talked about 0:14:27.520 --> 0:14:31.480 is it possible overcharge your devices? Uh, technically the answer 0:14:31.520 --> 0:14:36.120 to that is yes, it is possible. But most recharging 0:14:36.920 --> 0:14:41.360 cables and and systems have a safety measure in place 0:14:41.520 --> 0:14:44.720 that will shut off the recharging once the battery has 0:14:44.760 --> 0:14:48.360 reached capacity. They they have they are able to measure 0:14:48.400 --> 0:14:51.720 the the energy density of the battery that is currently 0:14:51.760 --> 0:14:57.680 being charged, and once it reaches its full level, the 0:14:57.680 --> 0:15:01.840 the recharging, Uh, the the electrons pathway to the electrons 0:15:01.840 --> 0:15:04.320 are just essentially cut off. So you're not going to 0:15:04.600 --> 0:15:09.080 overcharge your your battery using the right cable. Me. If 0:15:09.120 --> 0:15:12.200 you're using a really cheap cable or your Jerry Riggs 0:15:12.280 --> 0:15:14.800 something so that you can try to recharge your batteries, 0:15:14.840 --> 0:15:18.920 then I can't you know, vouch for that. You could 0:15:18.960 --> 0:15:23.520 theoretically overcharge your battery and cause damage and possibly that 0:15:23.520 --> 0:15:28.800 could lead to an explosion or fire. Uh. I was 0:15:28.840 --> 0:15:32.400 also going to mention, UM, did you find the thing 0:15:32.440 --> 0:15:35.280 you were looking for? Yes, Lead acid batteries are used 0:15:35.280 --> 0:15:40.400 in in wheelchairs and cars and kids toys, so stuff 0:15:40.440 --> 0:15:43.680 like the UM you know, the little cars that they 0:15:43.760 --> 0:15:48.360 use where you get in has the motor UM. Pretty 0:15:48.440 --> 0:15:50.160 nifty things until you get your toes run over a 0:15:50.200 --> 0:15:52.680 few times. I'll take your word for that. I mean 0:15:52.760 --> 0:15:55.240 I don't have one of myself. I don't fit in 0:15:55.280 --> 0:16:00.200 them anymore. I, you know, am pleading that I know 0:16:00.280 --> 0:16:03.560 nothing about that. Okay, So there was something else I 0:16:03.560 --> 0:16:07.600 wanted to talk about rechargeable batteries, which was the memory effect. Yes, 0:16:07.840 --> 0:16:10.440 but that's not pertinent to all different types of the 0:16:10.560 --> 0:16:13.400 chargeable batteries. Really, Nickel cadmium is the one that is 0:16:13.440 --> 0:16:16.640 typically to blame for the memory effect, and I can 0:16:16.680 --> 0:16:19.720 explain that if you want, please do. UM, I found 0:16:19.720 --> 0:16:23.120 a whole series of articles um by somebody that I 0:16:23.200 --> 0:16:25.720 really liked, and I'm now trying to scroll down until 0:16:25.720 --> 0:16:28.760 I get to uh the name, get to his notes. Um. 0:16:28.840 --> 0:16:32.280 But the chemical makeup of the battery is has a 0:16:32.280 --> 0:16:37.600 lot to do with the memory effect UMA for me, Okay, 0:16:37.640 --> 0:16:40.000 I'll let me explain what the memory effect actually, that's good. 0:16:40.320 --> 0:16:42.600 So the memory effect is when if you let's say, 0:16:42.680 --> 0:16:45.680 let's say you've got a battery and you've you've used 0:16:45.760 --> 0:16:48.200 up about half the charge of the battery, and then 0:16:48.240 --> 0:16:50.640 you recharge it, and you use up about half the 0:16:50.720 --> 0:16:52.560 charge of the battery, and then you recharge it. You 0:16:52.600 --> 0:16:55.680 do this a few times. Certain batteries, the nickel cadmium 0:16:55.720 --> 0:17:01.040 batteries in particular, will eventually retain memory wory of that 0:17:01.920 --> 0:17:06.679 you used and think that's the full of the batteries charge. 0:17:07.080 --> 0:17:08.480 So in other words, you will never be able to 0:17:08.520 --> 0:17:11.000 get a percent performance out of that battery. What will 0:17:11.040 --> 0:17:16.720 happen is it'll discharge to and then the battery, uh 0:17:17.000 --> 0:17:20.920 will stop working because of the memory effect. It it 0:17:21.040 --> 0:17:25.919 doesn't literally think, but it quote unquote thinks that it 0:17:26.000 --> 0:17:29.880 has uh it is has discharged its full charge even 0:17:29.880 --> 0:17:33.560 though it remains untouched. Now you're going to say, has 0:17:33.640 --> 0:17:36.800 found a whole series of articles by uh, someone from 0:17:37.080 --> 0:17:43.040 CADEX Electronics. His name was Isador Buckman, and um wrote 0:17:43.080 --> 0:17:47.560 a whole series of really interesting articles about about batteries. 0:17:47.720 --> 0:17:53.080 He's very apparently knowledgeable about batteries. Um. But there's the 0:17:53.280 --> 0:17:58.960 nickel based batteries have something that Buckman calls rock content, 0:18:00.040 --> 0:18:04.200 and that's and that's the memory, that's the memory effect basically. UM. 0:18:04.320 --> 0:18:07.040 The idea is that you have to go for a 0:18:07.080 --> 0:18:09.280 complete cycle, which is what we were talking about a 0:18:09.320 --> 0:18:13.600 long time ago in our Charging Batteries podcast before, where 0:18:13.640 --> 0:18:16.440 you let it run all the way out and then 0:18:16.800 --> 0:18:18.520 you know, plug it in and land it charge all 0:18:18.520 --> 0:18:21.160 the way back up to give it a full complete 0:18:21.160 --> 0:18:26.359 cycle of charge. Um. But but the thing is, UM, 0:18:26.520 --> 0:18:32.920 the the oxidate or the chemical reactions basically UH make 0:18:33.000 --> 0:18:35.800 part of the battery unusable. And that's why you have 0:18:35.920 --> 0:18:39.120 to go through the deep cycle process to do that. Now, 0:18:39.119 --> 0:18:43.040 the other types don't have that same problem. And in fact, 0:18:43.160 --> 0:18:47.199 lithium ion you're I I remember being told never to 0:18:47.320 --> 0:18:50.119 do a full discharge of lithium ion battery because that 0:18:50.160 --> 0:18:53.080 will make it um useless. You can't recharge it once 0:18:53.119 --> 0:18:56.880 it's been fully discharged. Yeah. Um. Marshall Brain's article on 0:18:57.160 --> 0:19:00.280 how lithium ion batteries work on the site to us 0:19:00.320 --> 0:19:05.080 that UM, and what happens in that case, according to Buckman, 0:19:05.200 --> 0:19:10.159 is that the oxidation just by use and aging the 0:19:10.160 --> 0:19:14.199 a lithium ion battery will gradually just become unusable just 0:19:14.240 --> 0:19:17.000 because the the guts of it, if you will, are 0:19:17.040 --> 0:19:20.920 are going through the oxidation process. UM. Buckman says there's 0:19:20.960 --> 0:19:23.960 about two or three years UH for doing that and 0:19:24.040 --> 0:19:26.000 whether or not you're using it. If you charge up 0:19:26.040 --> 0:19:29.280 your batteries to be used in your emergency emergency flashlight, 0:19:29.560 --> 0:19:33.320 you put the flashlight in a drawer. Um, two years 0:19:33.320 --> 0:19:36.879 go by and there's suddenly an electrical storm and you 0:19:36.920 --> 0:19:39.359 lose power, you reach for that flashlight, you may not 0:19:39.440 --> 0:19:43.520 have any battery left. Yeah, you still have to replace 0:19:43.560 --> 0:19:46.399 it regularly. UM. You know, you can keep it at 0:19:46.520 --> 0:19:49.199 at at charge in a in a cool place to 0:19:49.480 --> 0:19:51.879 help prevent that, but you're not going to prevent it 0:19:51.960 --> 0:19:54.520 no matter what. And there's also no memory effect with 0:19:54.520 --> 0:19:57.760 with UH with lithium I and you don't really need 0:19:57.800 --> 0:20:00.439 to condition them, which is which does con predict what 0:20:00.480 --> 0:20:03.680 we said in that podcast because I remember specifically saying that, so, 0:20:04.400 --> 0:20:08.560 uh bad on me for not finding Mr Buckman's article before. Then. 0:20:09.040 --> 0:20:11.400 Well that was the thing is that it's confusing, right, 0:20:11.480 --> 0:20:13.320 because it all depends on the type of battery. With 0:20:13.440 --> 0:20:16.679 the nickel camium, you have to you don't have to, 0:20:16.800 --> 0:20:18.480 but if you want to avoid the memory effect, you 0:20:18.480 --> 0:20:21.760 need to discharge it as fully as possible before you 0:20:21.800 --> 0:20:24.800 start recharging it, because otherwise the little crystals that will 0:20:24.800 --> 0:20:29.200 form in that battery will well coagulate and get bigger, 0:20:29.520 --> 0:20:31.280 and the crystals will get bigger. And as those those 0:20:31.280 --> 0:20:33.760 crystals essentially you can think of it as they take 0:20:33.840 --> 0:20:38.600 up space and become inert. So the more crystals formed, 0:20:38.760 --> 0:20:42.080 the less power your battery is going to have. So 0:20:42.280 --> 0:20:45.200 if you discharge it all the way, those little crystals 0:20:45.200 --> 0:20:48.119 don't really form as quickly, they don't coagulate or whatever, 0:20:48.720 --> 0:20:51.719 then you can recharge it and you're fine. Um, if 0:20:51.760 --> 0:20:53.720 you just discharge it a little bit, then those crystals 0:20:53.720 --> 0:20:55.680 get bigger and bigger until that part of the battery 0:20:55.760 --> 0:20:59.200 gets unusable. So yeah, in that case, you do need 0:20:59.240 --> 0:21:01.440 to use it all the way down and then recharge 0:21:01.440 --> 0:21:04.000 it all the way back up. Uh. Lithium ion is 0:21:04.040 --> 0:21:06.520 not that way. In fact, some places I've seen so 0:21:06.680 --> 0:21:10.080 that there's uh, the best way to keep your lithium 0:21:10.080 --> 0:21:13.400 ion battery lasting a really long time is to keep 0:21:13.400 --> 0:21:18.040 it charged between forty and and you don't charge it 0:21:18.160 --> 0:21:20.760 over sixty, and you don't let it drop below forty 0:21:20.840 --> 0:21:23.600 and it will last. That'll that'll let the battery last 0:21:24.040 --> 0:21:26.680 the longest over the lifetime of the battery, not I'm 0:21:26.680 --> 0:21:30.439 not talking about you know, playtime or whatever. If you 0:21:30.480 --> 0:21:32.639 hook up a lithium ion battery and it's charged at 0:21:32.680 --> 0:21:35.200 six you're not going to get you know, ten hours 0:21:35.240 --> 0:21:36.800 of use out of it like you would with a 0:21:36.840 --> 0:21:40.479 full fully charged battery. But over the course of the 0:21:40.520 --> 0:21:43.840 lifetime of the battery, you'll get more years of use 0:21:43.920 --> 0:21:47.360 out of it. So that's a little too much battery 0:21:47.400 --> 0:21:52.280 management for me. I can't do that. I can't. I'm 0:21:52.280 --> 0:21:55.679 not going to be you know, sitting over my devices 0:21:55.880 --> 0:21:59.280 watching that that little number creep up and then say, oh, 0:21:59.359 --> 0:22:02.600 it's at six percent, I need to unplug it. You know, 0:22:02.800 --> 0:22:06.520 it's not really realistic. But the other yeah, the consequence 0:22:06.560 --> 0:22:08.439 of that is that I do this knowing that the 0:22:08.480 --> 0:22:10.240 battery is probably not gonna last as long as it 0:22:10.280 --> 0:22:14.399 would if I did take that trouble. Yeah, it's too 0:22:14.480 --> 0:22:18.359 much trouble for me. Well, it's funny because, um, a 0:22:18.400 --> 0:22:21.320 lot of the batteries, a lot of rechargeable batteries, um, 0:22:21.600 --> 0:22:25.960 have a very long lifespan if you manage them. Well, um, 0:22:26.000 --> 0:22:29.600 but the properties of each are different, like for example, uh, 0:22:29.800 --> 0:22:33.960 lead acid batteries need exercise. They really actually need to 0:22:34.000 --> 0:22:38.000 be used a little bit, um frequently, you know, just 0:22:38.240 --> 0:22:41.080 a little bit at a time to keep them healthy 0:22:41.200 --> 0:22:44.120 essentially and keep them from from running out on their own. Yeah, 0:22:44.160 --> 0:22:46.760 if you if you left a car alone long enough, 0:22:46.880 --> 0:22:50.239 you may discover that, uh, you know, the battery might 0:22:50.280 --> 0:22:51.879 have been fine when you left the car, but now 0:22:51.920 --> 0:22:54.479 when you finally returned to it, the cars not starting 0:22:54.560 --> 0:22:58.560 up properly. That could be because the battery itself, you know, 0:22:58.600 --> 0:23:00.800 has been left unattended for too long. It also can 0:23:00.800 --> 0:23:03.440 happen in very cold weather because that slows down the 0:23:03.520 --> 0:23:10.080 chemical reactions. Right. Yeah, going through the my notes, and 0:23:10.119 --> 0:23:12.440 there's just I've got a lot on on how batteries 0:23:12.440 --> 0:23:17.000 should be charged. Um. That that's something else interesting too. Uh. 0:23:17.040 --> 0:23:19.280 You know, I've I've seen the chargers that have the 0:23:19.760 --> 0:23:23.639 like the fast charge cycle advertised. You don't do that 0:23:23.680 --> 0:23:26.520