By Bill Pytlovany
What Everyone Should Know About Lithium Ion Batteries
Bill Pytlovany expands on our important new research regarding the volatility of lithium ion laptop batteries.–PC Pitstop
Most of us remember one of the first advancements in rechargeable batteries for consumer devices, the Nickel-cadmium battery(NiCd). This battery type became known for having “memory” at a particular charge level. I was told we were supposed to always let the battery fully discharge or it remembered any level it stayed at. In the future the battery would only charge as high as that level. Eventually, the time available from the battery would decrease and become useless.
Small consumer products and even new vehicles took off with the introduction of Lithium and rechargeable Lithium-ion batteries. They were able to hold a longer charge and they didn’t have the same memory issue as the NiCd battery. They’re not as toxic and when not in use they don’t lose their charge as quickly.
We’re still learning about the care and feeding of Lithium-ion batteries. For instance, the folk-lore about conditioning a battery is not true. A Lithium battery like the AA’s you put in your remote control are not the same as Lithium-ion. They don’t have the same risk in your device.
This post is excerpted with Bill’s permission from his blog
