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Warning: Exploding batteries:Safer
alternatives on the way promise extended energy
By Ephraim Schwartz December 19, 2003 , The Standard
During the past several months, you may have read a number of horror
stories about exploding batteries in laptops and cell phones. One
such story is interesting; two stories unusual. But when I read
three stories, all in reputable news outlets, well, that's a trend.
I spoke with a few experts in the field of electrochemistry who
told me the danger is real.
When lithium-ion batteries replaced nickel metal hydride, researchers
increased the energy density (the amount of power they could pack
into the space), eliminated the memory effect, and made batteries
lighter. But lithium ion in most cases uses cobalt oxide, which
has a tendency to undergo "thermal runaway," explains
Joe Lamoreux, vice president of research and development at Valence
Technology. "When you heat this material up, it [can] reach
an onset temperature that begins to self-heat and progresses into
fire and explosion."
Because Valence claims to offer a safer alternative, I also spoke
with Atakan Ozbek, director of energy research at Allied Business
Intelligence, an independent technology research think tank, and
to Sandrine Colson-Inam, general manager at Cell Expert North America,
another independent technology research company. Ozbek and Colson-Inam
confirmed what Lamoreux told me. Both also agree that Valence's
phosphate technology, registered as Saphion Technology, is definitely
safer.
Explosions and fire happen "rarely" but as Lamoreux said
this problem is a "tiger in a cage" just because of the
sheer number of batteries out there. Battery problems that result
in fire, lots of smoke, and explosions can be caused by a short
circuit, excessive heat, overcharging, or abuse.
Ozbek advises users to replace lithium-ion batteries every two to
three years. Two years is the safest time period, as constant recharging
weakens the battery.
Colson-Inam advises users not to leave a laptop or cell phone in
the trunk of a car where the temperature can easily go above 140-degrees
Fahrenheit, the point at which a thermal runaway can start.
Valence has come up with a new active material for lithium-ion batteries
based on phosphates rather than oxides. These batteries behave like
the traditional lithium-ion version but don't have a thermal runaway
characteristic.
Currently, Valence is shipping outboard devices — N-Charge,
weighing just under three pounds — as backup batteries to
notebooks. They also sell a 60-pound version, K-Charge, to the telecommunications
industry as backup for big switches.
The next generation from Valence will be small enough to use as
a direct replacement for your current laptop battery and will be
available next year.
Long-term fuel cells that convert hydrogen and oxygen to electricity
— don't ask me how — are a promising alternative. But
fuel cells, according to the experts, cannot handle peak loads,
not even the peak load generated in a cell phone. Therefore, the
alternative is a fuel cell with battery backup to handle the peaks.
The awful truth is that improvements in battery technology will
be played out during the next five years or so. When battery technology
can be taken no further, you will be getting maybe 15 percent to
20 percent more energy than you do now from your battery.
Intel and Texas Instruments, among others, are probably our best
hope for innovation, as they continue to spend millions of dollars
on power-saving technologies to squeeze more life out of the same
old battery.
“Ten Stories That Rocked (ok, touched)
Your World”
Story by Marc Ferranti, IDG News Service
DECEMBER 22, 2003 ( IDG NEWS SERVICE ) - After a three-year roller-coaster
ride, the IT industry settled down a bit in 2003. The year seemed
to provide a respite from history-making corporate scandals, monopoly-busting,
and the exhilarating but scary boom-and-bust cycle.
Not that anyone was operating on cruise control, as this roundup
makes clear. Here are the top 10 IT stories of the year, not necessarily
in order of importance:
· Offshore Outsourcing: One Worker's Gain Is Another's Loss
Stories about U.S. companies outsourcing work to India have been
reported for years. But this year it became apparent that Romania,
Bulgaria, Russia, China, Ghana, the Philippines and dozens of other
countries are also clamoring for, and getting, business from the
U.S. The value of IT services provided to U.S. businesses from offshore
labor will double to $16 billion next year and then almost triple
to $46 billion by 2007, according to market research firm IDC. Forecasts
such as this sparked fears that Western IT workers would face increasing
competition and prompted politicians and trade unions to raise the
specter of protectionism. QuickLink a2290
· Oracle, PeopleSoft and J.D. Edwards Star in Merger Drama
of the Year
Legal battles also added to the drama of PeopleSoft Inc.'s acquisition
of rival ERP software maker J.D. Edwards & Co. and its subsequent
fight to ward off a hostile $5.1 billion takeover bid from Oracle
Corp. Oracle, acting as spoiler of the J.D. Edwards deal, got hit
with several lawsuits by its takeover target. The fracas is a milestone:
The fragmented ERP market has been due for a shakeout, and the Oracle/PeopleSoft
bout may end up being just one of many battles, as a series of mergers
leads to a new chapter in a business applications story in which
there are far fewer characters. QuickLink a3320
· On-Demand Computing Message Besieges Users
You can call it "utility computing," or you can call it
"adaptive computing," or you can call it "autonomic
computing," or you can call it "mind-numbing vendorspeak."
But whatever you call it, the on-demand computing message bombarded
users relentlessly. IBM, Hewlett-Packard Co., Sun Microsystems Inc.,
Computer Associates International Inc. and Microsoft Corp. led the
assault, attempting to gain mind share from IT professionals who
are eager to boost efficiency and lower costs in their data centers.
But users and analysts agree that a computing infrastructure that
adapts to business needs is a long-term vision that will materialize
only incrementally over the next decade or so. QuickLink 40444
· Spam Grows From Annoyance to Major Political Issue
This year, spam was a cause celebre for politicians in Europe and
the U.S. In October, an opt-in directive came into effect for the
15 European Union member states. In the last few weeks of the year,
the U.S. Congress followed suit by sending an opt-out antispam bill
to President George W. Bush to sign. Squabbles over differences
in approach gave way to agreement that unless some sort of an antispam
crackdown also occurs in Asia, purveyors of unsolicited e-mail will
find a haven there. QuickLink a3300
SCO CEO Darl McBride
· Slammer and Other Worms Continue to Proliferate
The year had just begun when Slammer hit the Internet, proving to
be the fastest-spreading worm to date and reminding Internet users
globally that security is still an unresolved problem. The good
news is that most affected organizations said prompt reactions and
new security technology prevented more widespread disruptions. The
bad news is that security flaws in popular software will likely
allow malicious hackers to continue to plague users. QuickLink a1280
· SCO Rocks the Linux Boat
Just when things appeared to be going great for Linux the world
over, a wrench in the works alarmed the open-source faithful. When
The SCO Group Inc. filed a lawsuit in March charging IBM with misappropriation
of trade secrets, Linux users saw that the move involved more than
a contract dispute. SCO asserts that IBM took proprietary Unix code
and introduced it into the open-source community. This muddies the
legal waters for open-source software users, some of whom believe
that SCO's terms could restrict Linux users' ability to redistribute
source code. QuickLink a3260
AMD's 64-bit Opteron
· 64-Bit Computing Gets Real
While not as mainstream as Wi-Fi, low-cost 64-bit computing took
a step toward prime time in 2003. Advanced Micro Devices Inc. played
a key role in lighting a fire under the market for 64-bit computing,
launching the Opteron chip in April and the Athlon64 processor in
September. Since the chips run both 32- and 64-bit applications,
AMD hopes to help customers hedge their investments in old technology
and ease the transition to new applications. Though desktop users
will have to wait for many applications, as well as for a 64-bit
version of Windows that isn't expected until the second half of
2004, the stage is set for the average user to get the benefits
of faster video encoding and better performance from complex applications
such as computer-aided design. QuickLink 43032
· Wi-Fi Goes Wild
While Wi-Fi "hot spots" had already started to spring
up in public places last year, it wasn't until this year that you
could count on finding them in coffee shops throughout most of the
globe's major cities. Intel Corp.'s Centrino chip package, tailored
for mobile computing applications, helped fuel interest in wireless
computing. Meanwhile, new specifications such as 802.11g, combined
with new smart-antenna technology, will boost Wi-Fi range and signal
strength and undoubtedly further fuel the wireless revolution. QuickLink
k1000
· PC Market Shows Signs of Life
After lying moribund for a year or so, PC shipments were forecast
to grow more than 11% for 2003. That rate would mark double-digit
growth for the first time since 2000. An expected surge in business
spending in the U.S. helped push the forecasts up above 10%. Analysts
are also starting to predict double-digit growth for 2004. QuickLink
a3870
· Optimism Re-emerges
By the end of the year, rosy predictions for hardware joined upbeat
economic news, including moves by the Nasdaq stock exchange to bring
more technology stocks into its Nasdaq 100, as the index rose by
more than 40% from 2002 levels. This gave a lift to the end of 2003,
which in a sense was the year of the tech story that wasn't: Prognosticators'
forecasts for an upturn in 2002 had been dashed, which had a dampening
effect on the usual hype surrounding new products.
Now industry watchers are starting to talk up technology that emerged
this year but might need a more robust buying climate to really
take off. Look out for a resurgence in spending -- IDC forecasts
overall IT spending to grow 6% to 8% in 2004 -- and for trends such
as the increasing use of on-demand computing resources, low-cost
commodity computing systems that incorporate Intel chips, adoption
of Linux and a focus on regulatory compliance issues.
Ferranti is executive news editor of the IDG News Service.
Don Tennant contributed to this story.
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