Ford F150 Lightning Electric Vehicle-WOW! Just WOW!...Or maybe not wow?

[Inor]

I assume lithium batteries? Didn't dell computers or somebody's laptops catch fire a few years back?

About 20 years ago I was working at a shop, building a machine to process lithium for implantable batteries - think heart defibrillators and pacemakers. We built a 24 x 24 dry room, maintained about 0.5 to 0.3% relative humidity, lithium gets goofy when wet. Room even had an airlock chamber to get in.

Little fact: I took scrap lithium (think aluminum foil) wadded it up in a ball, and took it outside to the chip hopper, about 2' deep in rain water. Chunked it in. It catches fire when it gets wet, pops, explodes, I had a wad about the size of a plum that shot out of the dumpster and landed about 20' away. Burns green and toxic. Got a small lungful of the fumes. Thought I was going to the ER, couldn't get my lungs to quit burning. But sure, let's surgically implant that into people's bodies.

Another project used the same dry room. Made a battery for a secondary detonator for missiles, maybe the patriot missiles? If the missile hit it's target and did not explode, the shock activated the secondary detonator. It would explode when the batter went dead. Our batter was designed for a 3-6 second life. Did not want our tech to fall into turban hands... L3. Socom, maybe you have heard of this.

So when I hear of the fire potential, not surprised...

If you want to have some fun, take an 18650 battery cell (the same cells in most cordless tools and laptops) and drive a galvanized nail through it. Don't use a hammer like you would driving a nail into a board; instead drive the nail all the way through a scrap of 2x4 and hit the battery cell with the nail in the 2x4 like a club. It's pretty cool to watch. Obviously, do it outside, well away from anything flammable.

Lithium battery cells are more power-dense than dynamite.

[T-Man 1066]

Our dry room had a removable wall to bring in and out larger components or complete machines. When we needed to open it up all of the coiled lithium went into a vessel that we purged with nitrogen and sealed air-tight. Definitely serious shit...

[MoreAmmoOK]

When asked what he thought about cell phones, the man who invented the lithium battery said something like, "There's no way I'd carry one of them in my pocket."

[Prepared One]

When asked what he thought about cell phones, the man who invented the lithium battery said something like, "There's no way I'd carry one of them in my pocket."

And right now, till I retire, I sometimes carry two of those damn things in my pocket. Never sure which one is ringing or if one of em will blow my ass off.

[MountainGirl]

And right now, till I retire, I sometimes carry two of those damn things in my pocket. Never sure which one is ringing or if one of em will blow my ass off.

Don't forget to factory reset one of them before you give it back.

[Sparkyprep]

When asked what he thought about cell phones, the man who invented the lithium battery said something like, "There's no way I'd carry one of them in my pocket."

Meh. People used to be scared of explosions from driving gasoline-powered cars.