Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Lithium-ion batteries may be the answer to high oil prices. Assistant Professor, Shirley Meng with UF's Engineering Department says if cars could be successfully developed using these types of batteries, car millage could significantly increase. Meng says the safety of the lithium-ion battery is a major concern right now. She says laptops using the batteries have been known to catch fire. Meng says it's been determined that this is caused by a combination of the materials used in battery and the way the device is operated. She believes if the battery were used in cars, manufacturers would determine a safe way to go about it. Meng says the safety issues are being tackled now, but in the future, she believes the problem will be resolved.