Hoverboards might be all the rage right now, but apparently they come with a dangerous secret: they are prone to sometimes catch fire or explode due to complications with its battery. Thankfully, Stanford researchers may have developed a solution that would allow you to hoverboard with some peace of mind.
According to CNET, the reason hoverboards are prone to catching fire and exploding has to do with its lithium ion batteries, which are filled with highly flammable material that can overheat and ignite should anything go wrong.
Something being so catastrophically wrong so as to cause the hoverboard to ignite or explode has been relatively rare — and occurs sometimes in smartphones as well — but it’s still a problem Stanford engineers took it upon themselves to solve.
A team of Stanford chemical engineers has claimed to have developed a lithium ion battery, like the one that typically powers hoverboards, that is able to automatically shut down before overheating, preventing any risk of potential explosions or fire-starting. The battery allows the hoverboard to restart itself once it has cooled off sufficiently.
The self-regulating battery technology utilizes nano technology in order to determine when a battery is becoming too hot to properly function.
Here’s how it works: spiky nickel particles coated in graphene are embedded in a thin plastic film. To conduct electricity, the particles have to be touching each other, but when the battery heats up too much, the plastic film expands and separates the spiky nickel particles.
Though Stanford’s battery breakthrough should come as a relief to anybody currently feeling paranoid about their hoverboard exploding, it is important to note that the tech is not yet commercially available. It is recommended a fire extinguisher is kept within close proximity to a hoverboard, in case of emergencies.
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