The trick? The Tesla Roadster is powered by 6,831 rechargeable lithium-ion batteries – the same cells that run a laptop computer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeWq6rWzChw
The trick? The Tesla Roadster is powered by 6,831 rechargeable lithium-ion batteries – the same cells that run a laptop computer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeWq6rWzChw
I’ve raised this issue many a time.
Bad enough when a laptop battery explodes, at least you can jump up and run away. You may not be able to do that in a car.
"In case of fire where lithium ion batteries are present, flood the area with water. If any batteries are burning, water may not extinguish them, but will cool the adjacent batteries and control the spread of fire. CO2, dry chemical, and foam extinguishers are preferred for small fires, but also may not extinguish burning lithium ion batteries. Burning batteries will burn themselves out. Virtually all fires involving lithium ion batteries can be controlled with water. When water is used, however, hydrogen gas may be evolved which can form an explosive mixture with air. LITH-X (powdered graphite) or copper powder fire extinguishers, sand, dry ground dolomite or soda ash may also be used. These materials act as smothering agents.
"Fire fighters should wear self-contained breathing apparatus. Burning lithium ion batteries can produce toxic fumes including HF, oxides of carbon, aluminum, lithium, copper, and cobalt. Volatile phosphorus pentafluoride may form at a temperature above 230° F."
Lemme guess: the Li-Ion batteries would be made in China...
And how much does each of these batteries weigh?
What kind of batteries dose the Prius use?
August 6, 2009: "A test run of Tesla's new offshore racing hydroplane goes horribly wrong"
Could be worse, though:
It is BS for the industry to steal Nikola Tesla’s name this way.
If he had his way, there would be no battery in the car, you’d be using wireless current.
Lithium cells are prone to outgassing, bursting and catching fire when the CHARGER malfunctions. (They do not emit steam, however.) This bursting hazard is a serious problem for Li-Ion and Li-Polymer cells. We model airplane builders use Li-Polymer cells a lot, because they are very light and have a high energy density. But we have to use great care - many cars and garages have been set alight by the little widgets.
They are NOT suitable for a car, and not because of the fire hazard. The fact is, their performance is drastically reduced by low temperatures, so unless you live in the South, you would not like them. They also require a very slow charge cycle - fast charging is a fiery no-no.
Prius uses Nickel-Hydride cells. Heavier, but a very reliable technology. Disposal is a problem - they are considered Haz-Mat when spent, so must be collected and recycled.
Latest tech is Lithium Iron (A123) and Lithium Manganese, (Saphion) cells, both of which are proving VERY capable, have little or no fire hazard, and can be recharged very fast. You can already buy them in battery packs for portable power tools. A little heavier per unit of power than Li-Polymer, but safe. THESE you may find in cars pretty soon.
Does anyone know what kind of battery is in the 2007 or 2008
Saturn Vue Hybrid? Are Saturns really made completely of fiberglass with no metal on the body?
Where I work has a contract with Dell for laptops. The batteries in the laptops are similar, I would guess, to these. They have an expected lifetime of 1-2 years of use. It would suck to have to replace all 6,000 batteries (at about $100 each from Dell) after a year...
http://www.sciencentral.com/articles/view.php3?article_id=218392803
Not exactly the same.
The cells used in the Tesla Roadster all have an internal positive temperature coefficient (PTC) current limiting device. The primary role of this PTC is to limit short circuit current on an individual cell level. It is important to note that this device is completely passive and functions without any inputs from the rest of the battery pack systems.
A second level of protection is provided by the Current Interrupt Device (CID). Each battery cell used in the Tesla Roadster has an internal CID. These devices serve to protect the cell from excessive internal pressure. In such a case the CID will break and electrically disconnect the cell.
Cells used in the Tesla Roadster battery pack are all packaged in steel cans.
The battery pack is controlled internally by several embedded microprocessors that operate both when the battery pack is installed in the car, and when the pack is being transported. An example of a passive safety feature is the selection of Aluminum for our battery enclosure instead of plastic as in all laptop packs. The Aluminum provides greater structural strength in case of mechanical abuse tolerance and does not easily melt or burn.
In the Tesla Roadster battery pack, each of the thousands of cells has two fuses (one each for the cell’s anode and cathode). This results in tremendous safety benefits since a cell becomes electrically separated from the rest of the pack if either of its fuses blow (generally by a short circuit). In addition to cell fuses, each of the 11 battery modules has its own main fuse that guards against a short circuit across the complete module.
The Tesla Roadster Battery System
http://www.teslamotors.com/display_data/TeslaRoadsterBatterySystem.pdf