Re: Shutdown my Laptop? Why should I?
On Thu, 13 Jul 2006 22:51:03 -0500
Jay C Vollmer <jvollmer@visi.com> wrote:
> On Thursday 13 July 2006 21:24, Carl Fink wrote:
>
> > I'm not an electrochemist, but modern Li-ion batteries don't develop
> > memory, they just lose capacity each time they're charged.
>
> Isn't what you're describing 'memory?'
>
The end effect may be similar in terms of degraded performance, but the
chemical point of view is different.
I don't remember the specifics, but IIRC NiCad develop a 'memory' in that the
material 'remembers' it's charged state and won't discharge. It is recommended
to completely discharge these batteries on occasion to avoid this.
Li-ion don't have this effect, but on the other hand they don't like to be
completely discharged. The problem is that they have several cells, and some
discharge faster then others. When some of the cells completely discharge and
others haven't yet, an effect of back-flow occurs which burns out those cells.
There is another problem with all batteries, (a problem of the charging
circuits actually) that if they are charged too fast they will over heat which
damages them. The second problem is that none of the batteries like to be over
charged, something which usually isn't handled properly either usually.
The integrated circuits may get out of sync with the battery (usually when the
battery degrades with age and the circuit isn't calibrated any more, which
causes false information, but doesn't effect performance). It is sometimes
recommended to discharge the battery completely when that happens to recalibrate
it, but isn't recommended on a regular basis with Li-ions.
Reply to: