I would think that it is generally accepted practice not to cut your battery in half or, at least, not on purpose. I believe we have all heard some sort of story of what would happen if you so much as puncture a battery, let alone cut it in half. Sparks would fly, you would get electrocuted, acid could get on your skin that would do a lot more than burn and, of course, maybe if you were to drop it on the ground too hard it might explode. I am going to guess that you can relate to most of those possible threats that batteries might pose to us, should we mess with them too much — maybe not that last one though, that one is probably just me.
In all seriousness though, what is a battery, what is it made of and how safe are they? First, besides the odd accident or defect, batteries are pretty safe, and become safer all the time, especially in the use of electric vehicles. Now, when we usually see the headlines of a battery catching fire, it is usually a lithium one.
To understand what a lithium battery is, you first have to understand what makes up a battery as a whole. A battery is made up of an anode, which is just a negatively charged electrode, and a cathode, which is a positively charged electrode. Between the anode and the cathode is usually a space where you will find a separator and an electrolyte component that allows for the transfer of electrons between the two sides.
In short, there is a negatively charged side and a positively charged side, and something in between – usually a liquid – that allows for the transfer of electrons between them. Batteries have been made in a similar way for decades, with not much in terms of meteoric change. They are meant to hold a charge, disperse that charge and then be charged in most of our modern circumstances.
With the rise of electric vehicles, the innovation question with batteries has come back into the spotlight. Batteries need to be charged quicker, hold a charge for longer and have a longer life span, especially if they are to aid in the competition with fossil fuel powered vehicles. Since drivers are not perfect, batteries also have to be safe in case there is an accident, which is why it is increasingly amazing that the possibility of cutting one in half, and it still working, is becoming a reality.
The reason behind the ability to cut a battery in half, is because of a new form of material between the anode and the cathode. It is a ceramic kind of material — or solid state — that allows for the free flow of electrons back and forth. Usually with a solid barrier between the two sides, the flow would be diminished, but with this new non liquid or polymer path, it still acts like a highway.
Batteries that can hold more, charge faster and be safer are how we reduce our carbon footprint and advance into a new age of electric vehicles. Part of moving the electric vehicle market forward is making the cars more accessible in terms of cost, and ensuring that there are charging stations in proximity and batteries that can hold a charge between each station.
I feel like too often we take for granted the wonders that batteries make possible, outside of vehicles. Our phones would not be possible if not for batteries, and although we may wish that our battery life in our phones would last longer than they currently do, the fact that they last even a day is spectacular.
Around the corner though, we may not have to be charging our phones as often as we currently do, as the world of batteries enters a new age of innovation.
TED-Ed (How Batteries Work) – https://youtu.be/9OVtk6G2TnQ
Cutting Batteries – https://youtu.be/kJXRyWQgOY4