Hi there. Cell phones certainly make our lives easier,
but they can also be dangerous. And I'm not talking about too much screen
time. Sometimes phones explode. Literally. Let's find out why this happens and what to
do to prevent it. Let me clear one thing up before we get into
the details: the phone doesn't explode, the battery does. And this usually happens with a lithium-ion
battery, which most modern gadgets are equipped with. Since 2016, cases of batteries igniting have
significantly increased. That's why, as of this year, it's forbidden
to store gadgets with these batteries in the cargo on an aircraft. In some cases, the phones not only explode,
but also ignite, swell, melt and even boil. Scientists from Canada were able to look inside
the phone and find out HOW it works. We'll get into a bit of physics and chemistry
now, but it’s important to understand, and I'll keep it simple. Because I must. The battery has a positive electrode charge
- a lithium anode. It collides with the electrolyte - the substance
that transfers electric current. The reaction of these two elements causes
the battery to heat up. Then, the lithium anode's evil brother - a
negative electrode, or cathode, joins the "party". At this point, it gets hot: the battery heats
up to 392 °F. And at this temperature, the electrolyte begins to decompose into flammable
substances – oxygen, carbon dioxide, and other gases. The battery can't withstand the load and just
swells. And this is not swell. Often, the party ends here, but sometimes
the battery ignites. The outcome is not very pleasant, especially
if the phone is in your pocket. Many people have said that their battery literally
"boiled" like real acid. Now all lithium-ion is equipped with controllers,
sensors, and charge balancers to reduce the risk of fire. But sometimes this doesn't help. So what exactly provokes this disaster inside
the phone? In fact, there are several reasons: 1) The electrodes are different in each battery,
and have different charging speeds. The electric current that gets transferred
to your phone during charging can simply be too much for your battery to handle. Nothing will happen after one charge, but
if you give your gadget more energy than it can take too often, sooner or later it'll
be ruined. 2) The chip that monitors the charge level
on the phone can fail as well. This small chip “filters” the charge of
the current so that your phone doesn't “eat” anything extra. If the charge is exceeded, then the chip simply
turns it off. But if this chip is broken, your phone will
come to an end very quickly. 3) The battery in the phone can very easily
be damaged if you drop your phone or accidentally step on it. If it's damaged, the correct order of operation
of the electrodes will be violated, destroying the battery and provoking an explosion. Remember when cell phones were thicker and
heavier? Every year, developers try to make phones
sleeker and easier to use, but the thin and fragile designs make the phones more vulnerable. In the event of a fall, the septum of the
electrodes could be damaged, resulting in a short circuit that'll instantly lead the
phone to overheat and ignite. 4) We can't know under what conditions the
battery of our phone was created. It could have been scratched during assembly,
disrupting the technology, or accidentally introducing small metal particles into it. Even minor damage can lead to breakage. Production defects are rare, but nobody is
completely safe from them. The probability that your phone will explode
is small, but it's there. Luckily, there are some simple and very reliable
ways to avoid it. 1) If you notice that the phone has become
hot while charging, then it's better to unplug the cable and allow the phone to cool. Don't cover it with anything until the heat
accumulated in the phone reduces. 2) Don't buy cheap or unreliable chargers. The phone manufacturers create chargers that
perfectly match the battery in your phone. Yes, it'll cost a bit more, but it’ll be
less than the cost of a new phone. The same goes for the battery itself. Only have it replace by certified personnel. The companies whose phones exploded turned
out to be innocent in most cases because the phone users had had the batteries changed
at unreliable establishments. Incompetent employees could accidentally damage
the battery or replace it with a cheap and poor-quality one. 3) Many people like to fall asleep with the
phone and put it under their pillow while charging. Hmmm. It'd be better to charge the phone in an open
space. And it's best not to charge the phone overnight
at all; just do it during the day when you can pay attention to it. 4) Don't leave your phone charging in hot
places. The sun can raise the temperature of the battery
and it won't lead to anything good. 5) If you notice that the battery of your
phone is running out quickly, then bring it to an authorized service center. You'll most likely need to replace it. 6) Don't carry your phone in your back pocket. You might forget about it and accidentally
sit down, which will lead to the deformation of the battery. You should be careful not only with the battery
of the phone, but also with the Power Bank. In 2016 at the airport in Istanbul, a security
officer forbade one passenger from bringing a power bank onto the plane. The passenger got angry and threw the device
to the floor, resulting in a small explosion and smoke. Hmm. Point made. So if you’re ever angry and want to take
it out on your device, think twice. Batteries don’t only explode in phones. Many cases have been recorded of laptops,
toasters, hoverboards, and electric vehicles igniting. But honestly, I don't want to end the video
on such a bleak note. So, here's some advice about how to make your
phone's battery last longer. 1) Once charged, pull out the cable. Continuing to charge a full battery will keep
it under stress. It's like with muscles: after an intense workout,
they should rest. And after a year of such excessive “training,”
the battery capacity will noticeably decrease, and the phone will run out of battery faster. Also, the developers advise against recharging
a phone to 100%. 2) Charge the phone as often as needed, but
just a little bit. If you constantly charge it to one hundred
percent and use the gadget until it's completely out of battery, then the battery will be able
to handle about 500-700 charge cycles. If you let it drop to about 50 percent, then
charge it a little and let it drop again, your battery will be able to handle 1,500
recharge cycles. The ideal level is to always keep the phone
between 40 and 80 percent. 3) Watch the temperature. Not only can the sun's rays harm the battery,
but also frost. Carrying your phone in the outside pocket
of your jacket in winter is a bad idea. 4) It's recommended that you completely drain
the battery (down to 0%) and then fully charge it, once a month. This "training" will help calibrate the mechanisms
that are responsible for the correct display of the charge level. 5) Try to replace the battery in any of your
devices at least once every two or three years. And the last question, which probably worries
a lot of people: is it okay to leave the charger in the outlet when you're not charging the
phone? Experts say that there's no risk, because
during the charging process the phone completely controls the power supply and turns it off
when you remove the charging cable from your gadget. But, if you have a poor-quality charger, then
it's best not to risk it and pull it out of the socket, especially if you'll be gone for
a long time. I hope you got a charge out of that. Hey, if you learned something new today, then
give the video a like and share it with a friend! And here are some other cool videos I think
you'll enjoy. Just click to the left or right, and stay
on the Bright Side of life!
