Tweet
Sony Battery Recall: What Went Wrong?
Sony Corp. has now recalled nine million lithium-ion laptop batteries over the past few months, after ignoring persistent reports that some batteries had overheated so much they burst into flames. The battery recall is by far the largest in history. At an awkward press conference this past Tuesday, Sony officials finally admitted that the cause was defective manufacturing, which allowed metallic particles to invade the reactive chamber, setting up the potential for runaway reactions.
Scientific American was on this story well before the press conference. Indeed, we had completed a Working Knowledge column explaining how lithium-ion batteries can overheat, complete with quotes and diagrams from industry experts. The article is "on press" now, as our printer prepares our December issue. But because Sony has suddenly acknowledged the mechanisms Working Knowledge discusses, we've decided to make a pre-publication copy of the article available online now. We hope you find it interesting.
Sony Corp. has now recalled nine million lithium-ion laptop batteries over the past few months, after ignoring persistent reports that some batteries had overheated so much they burst into flames. The battery recall is by far the largest in history. At an awkward press conference this past Tuesday, Sony officials finally admitted that the cause was defective manufacturing, which allowed metallic particles to invade the reactive chamber, setting up the potential for runaway reactions.
Scientific American was on this story well before the press conference. Indeed, we had completed a Working Knowledge column explaining how lithium-ion batteries can overheat, complete with quotes and diagrams from industry experts. The article is "on press" now, as our printer prepares our December issue. But because Sony has suddenly acknowledged the mechanisms Working Knowledge discusses, we've decided to make a pre-publication copy of the article available online now. We hope you find it interesting.
Comment