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Stories tagged: batteries
Thu., April 4, 2019
Don C. Brunell: The inconvenient truth about batteries
Each year Americans throw away more than 3 billion batteries constituting 180,000 tons of hazardous material, and the situation is likely to get much worse as the world shifts to …

Mon., March 18, 2019
Ask Dr. Universe: Why do gadgets need batteries? How do they work?
To find out how batteries work, I decided to visit my friend and materials engineer Min-Kyu Song. He makes batteries in his lab at Washington State University.

UPDATED: Sun., Oct. 21, 2018
The dirt on clean electric cars
Beneath the hoods of millions of the clean electric cars rolling onto the world’s roads in the next few years will be a dirty battery.

UPDATED: Sun., Sept. 2, 2018
The search for battery riches in Sweden starts with this rock collection
Being home to Europe’s biggest rock collection has finally come in handy for Sweden amid the global race for the scarce metals that power electric cars.

Thu., Dec. 28, 2017
Apple will offer discounts on replacement batteries, as lawsuits over iPhone slowdowns pile up
Apple chief executive Tim Cook apologized to customers Thursday for not being clear that the company slows down phones with aging batteries. Cook promised that, in the future, Apple will …

Thu., Dec. 28, 2017
Apple sorry for slowing iPhones, cuts battery price by $50
Apple is apologizing for secretly slowing down older iPhones, which it said was necessary to avoid unexpected shutdowns related to battery fatigue.
UPDATED: Fri., Dec. 22, 2017
Suit: iPhones slowed by Apple forced owners to buy new phones
Apple iPhone owners from several states are suing the tech giant for not disclosing sooner that it had issued software updates deliberately slowing older-model phones so aging batteries lasted longer.
Wed., March 15, 2017
Woman burned when headphones explode on flight to Australia
An Australian woman suffered burns to her face after her battery-operated headphones exploded during a flight from Beijing to Melbourne, Australian air safety investigators said Wednesday.

Mon., Oct. 10, 2016
Samsung halts sales of Galaxy Note 7 after new troubles
Samsung says it’s halting sales of the star-crossed Galaxy Note 7 smartphone after a spate of fires involving new devices that were supposed to be safe replacements for recalled models.

Thu., April 17, 2014
WSU team trying to build better smartphone battery
In a laboratory at Washington State University, Grant Norton and a team of researchers are working on a surprisingly difficult task: building a better battery for smartphones. Super lithium-ion batteries …
Tue., March 11, 2014
Button batteries leading to injury, death in small children
PHILADELPHIA – Lincoln Punch was a week old in April 2011 when his 3-year-old sister found a pair of tweezers with a tiny light attached. The girl broke open the …
Thu., March 7, 2013
NTSB to issue 787 fire report
The National Transportation Safety Board will issue an interim report today on the lithium-ion battery fire in January aboard a parked Boeing 787 Dreamliner at Logan Airport in Boston. A …

Sun., Jan. 20, 2013
Lithium-ion batteries pack extra power, challenges
The prospect of flying in a so-called plastic airplane was already unnerving for some. Now there’s the added concern of Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner using the same kind of batteries that …

Thu., Jan. 17, 2013
Batteries stolen from ‘Feed Spokane’ truck
Thieves have targeted a truck used to feed the hungry in Spokane County. Three heavy-duty batteries were stolen Monday from the Feed Spokane truck. The batteries were used to run …
Sun., June 3, 2012
WSU team seeks better batteries
PULLMAN – To anyone frustrated by the maddeningly short time their cellphone battery holds a charge, help is on the way. Washington State University materials engineering professor Grant Norton is …
Mon., Aug. 15, 2011
Do Your Part: Always consider recycling solutions
Stumped on what to do with stuff you can’t toss in the recycling bin? Don’t trash it before finding out how to do your part with even the trickiest of …
Mon., April 16, 2007
Ahh, the first traffic cones of spring
Breathe in. Blooming flowers, freshly mown grass, hot asphalt – they’re the smells of spring.
Mon., March 26, 2007
Finding new bulbs for streetlights can be a shot in the dark
Imagine that every room in your home has unique light fixtures requiring different types of light bulbs. Since some lamps were manufactured decades ago, spare parts may or may not …