A point of interest for hybrid and electric cars, and your phone

Ever wonder why your lithium ion batteries degrade and die, and sometimes catch on fire?  Well, a University of Arizona study has found a way to reduce the formation of lithium dendrites--kinda like a stalactite, but in a battery--to improve life and reduce the risk of fires.  It's the same reason that lead-free solders (RoHS regulations) tend to result in electronic device failure.  To draw a picture, current tends to flow along the dendrites instead of through the material between the lithium plates, and that results in a localized "hot spot" that destroys the battery, sometimes spectacularly in fire.  The dendrite is acting, more or less, like a lightbulb filament.   It's classic electromigration. 


As Fat Albert said, if you're not careful, you just might learn something.  I'd better watch out.