On Mon, Nov 18, 2024 at 06:37:54AM -0600, o1bigtenor via Dng wrote:
...
...
> Re batteries and shipping - - - that's another issue - - - there are some very
> tough regulations re: shipping of batteries here, so that makes me more than
> somewhat dependent upon at least a somewhat local supplier.

I encountered the shipping problems suring the pandemic when I tried to get a
replacement battery for my laptop. The manufacturer had the available, but I
couldn't get one shipped across the US-Canada international border. And because
of pandemic quarantine restrictions I couldn't go across the border myself
to a US pickup location. After the pandemic was over, compatible batteries
were no longer available. I now have a permanently plugged-in laptop computer
on my desk. I took the battery out when the battery life was shorter than the
time the computer tool to boot up. It just made the machine heavier with no
noticeaable bebefit.

> (Not my choice
> but having read of more than a few homes in the area that have been destroyed
> by lithium battery fires I can understand the reluctance of shipping firms to
> handle such product.)

Lithium battery fires likely result from the high energy density in the batteries.
A short would release a lot of energy as heat.

Yes, metallic lithium is notoriously flammable, but the lithium in a battery
is in the form of compounds involving lithium ions rather than the metal itself,

Another battery chemistry with the same amount of energy would also be at
risk of a short causing a fire.
(maybe not if its internal resustance is high enough?? Anyone know??)

-- hendrik