Does anyone know what is really behind this? The media is a load of hype.
Lithium batteries don’t usually catch fire unless
I reckon Samsung messed up the charging scheme in this tablet, but there are claims of them catching fire when not being charged.
quite a few of them blew up or caught fire, that is what is behind it. That is why Samsung has recalled and is currently destryoing the WHOLE production of the Note 7. They don’t do that out of charity, but they must have fu**ed up the design massively.
This one could well be the end of Samsung in the mobile market. Chinese producers are waiting to see the Koreans fall.
Yes, but that wasn’t my Q 
Well a couple of them blew up or better burst in flames in planes. That’s what’s behind it, no ?
These batteries are at the edge of the technically possible. Thin, very confined space, and ever more power needed. That’s what’s technically behind it. Happened to Tesla, to the hover boards, and others
Peter wrote:
Does anyone know what is really behind this?
I’ve see claims in media that there were mechanical problems in the manufacture of the batteries — possibly too large tolerances.
We must understand that these batteries suffer from an internal shortcut. The energy density compared to the available insulation between plus and minus is immense. A failure in production or material can cause the shortcut. The thinner the batteries get, the mire likely a shortcut.
Exactly EuroFlyer. And quite a few massive incidents and some accidents have already shown that this technology is not safe at all. The only reason the FAA and other CAA’s hesitate to put Li-ion batteries on the Dangerous Goods list is that the effect would be tremendous: No more Laptops, mobile phones, tablets e.t.c. could possibly be carried on board.
But the danger is not really negligable. If they short-cut, they will in many cases burst into flames. This can happen if they are damaged, get too hot or have other problems. Clearly, a smartphone which falls between seats, which for some reason gets too hot or overcharged presents a clear and present danger to anyone in it’s proximity. And the S7Note is by far not the only one which so far has shown this tendency, it only showed it much more prominently, but also I-Phones and other devices have blown up before. I had a vantage HTC phone do that on my desk, but fortunately it was constructed so that the battery expanding blew the cover off and ejected the battery, thereby removing it from the charging current. It was still quite unsettling to find the battery burned out on the desk with the phone next to it and the cover on the other side of the room but at least the phone was not damaged.
Samsung apparently introduced a massive manufacturing problem in their S7Note batteries which caused them to short circuit and blow up. After 35 cases, Samsung pulled back the whole series (of more than 2.5 million devices) and DESTROYED them. That is an unprecedented step and shows even more that these things are dangerous.
Flight UPS 6 was most probably lost due to Li Ion batteries in the cargo hold and so was Asiana flight 991. The Dreamliner saga is also well known, equally the ELT Battery that burnt an Ethiopian one to almost a hull loss.
The question in my mind is, what can really be done. It’s clearly not practicable to ban Li Ion batteries worldwide, as that would mean the end of portable electronics as we know them today. Add to that that a normal smartphone today carries the computing power of a massive desktop machine a few years ago, all fit into something the size of a cigarette box and expected to last a long haul flight in duration.
So it’s a quagmire. Yes, those things are dangerous like hell, yet we can’t really live without them.
Mooney_Driver wrote:
The question in my mind is, what can really be done.
The solution is not difficult and implemented with every commercial carrier. All one needs is a safe container and a procedure which deals with the action to be taken should such a device overheat, smoke or start burning. As long as it happens in the cabin and the pilots and/or flight attendants know what to do, there is no big risk.
What really is a threat are devices and batteries carried in the luggage stored in the cargo hold where it is not accessible. They must be banned from checked luggage.
One often reads that Lithium batteries will cause a “metal fire” which burns very hot and is difficult to extinguish. Luckily this is true only during the first few seconds. The lithium metal itself makes up for a small fraction of the batteries mass and will be consumed by the fire almost instantly. After that it is nothing but smoldering polymer/plastic which can be extinguished with almost anything.
what_next wrote:
What really is a threat are devices and batteries carried in the luggage stored in the cargo hold where it is not accessible. They must be banned from checked luggage.
Well, I understand that under current DG regulations, that is already the case.
Mooney_Driver wrote:
Well, I understand that under current DG regulations, that is already the case.
Maybe, but nobody really makes any checks. I am sure you can put three spare batteries for your laptop and digital camera each into your suitcase and it will just pass every security check. (I know someone who went for a four week trip in the Andes and did just that to be sure he won’t miss any photos…)
