Combustible lithium ion batteries in Samsung Galaxy Note7 smartphones should be a warning to all companies using the batteries in their tech gadgets, and software updates to deal with the problem are temporary solutions, a George Mason University professor said.
“Today’s cell phone companies are mainly relying on lithium ion batteries to power up their phones,” said Houman Homayoun, assistant professor in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department in George Mason’s Volgenau School of Engineering. “However, lithium, which is a silver white metal material, can catch fire easily, especially when it is exposed to oxygen.”
As more and more features are added to smartphones, growing computational requirements dictate the need for a stronger and longer-lasting battery. Lithium ion batteries fill that need, Homayoun said. The problem is faulty batteries that do not automatically stop charging when fully powered.
“Therefore, when left plugged in, lithium ion batteries keep collecting power and, eventually, the unplanned extra heat due to overcharging can accelerate the chemical reactions in lithium and eventually result in an explosion,” Homayoun said.
That is what happened in a handful of Samsung Galaxy Note7 smartphones, which prompted a government recall for devices sold before Sept. 15, recommendations to immediately discontinue their use and a software update to stop batteries from overcharging.
Houman Homayoun has a PhD in computer science from the University of California-Irvine and concentrates his research at Mason on power-temperature and reliability-aware memory and processor design optimizations. He can be reached at 703-993-5430 or hhomayou@gmu.edu.
Christopher Joiner, associate professor of marketing in Mason’s School of Business, has a PhD in marketing from the University of Minnesota and is an expert on consumer psychology. He can be reached at 703-993-4235 or cjoiner@gmu.edu.
For more information, contact Buzz McClain at 703-993-8782 or bmcclai2@gmu.edu, or Damian Cristodero at 703-993-9118 or dcristod@gmu.edu.
About George Mason
George Mason University is Virginia’s largest public research university. Located near Washington, D.C., Mason enrolls more than 34,000 students from 130 countries and all 50 states. Mason has grown rapidly over the past half-century and is recognized for its innovation and entrepreneurship, remarkable diversity and commitment to accessibility.