Lithium batteries do not explode when fired from a gun

[G7PSK]

Found this on you tube, it is something I had wondered about doing, now I don't need to. They don't explode when hitting a steel plate at high velocity.

https://youtu.be/uuOxqE5mY6c

[XOIIO]

I don't see why they would do either of those things, you need a puncture through the layers to get it to start on fire, and while it is energetic, it's not nearly quick enough to be considered an explosion. I doubt you could get them to release their energy that quickly.

[Kilrah]

Yep, lithium battery fires are due to thermal breakdown of the components, so by definition this requires time measured in seconds to heat everything up and more importantly keep those components held together long enough for them to react. Instant mechanical destruction obviously won't do anything "impressive".

[stmdude]

Yep, lithium battery fires are due to thermal breakdown of the components, so by definition this requires time measured in seconds to heat everything up and more importantly keep those components held together long enough for them to react. Instant mechanical destruction obviously won't do anything "impressive".

However, if you get the amount of stupidity involved _just_ right, the thermal breakdown goes quite quickly:

But yes, generally, Lithum cells aren't small bombs.  More like potential welding-torches.

[engineer_in_shorts]

well its a way to leave poisonous metals in a farmers field..... 

[Augustus]

Meanwhile, at the phone battery disposal facility...

[nctnico]

Talking about blowing things up... there is this old Dutch tradition:

[Augustus]

The last one... WTF... 

[engineer_in_shorts]

 

[German_EE]

I'm reminded of an entry into the Darwin Awards from Vietnam where a group of guys were taking turns to hit the business end of an unexploded shell with a hammer. The game did not end well for all concerned.

[senso]

Is that old old school milk "jugs"? At least they seem so. 

[XOIIO]

Man, that sledgehammer one is insane, but it looks like a lot of (very dangerous and stupid) fun for some reason.

[calexanian]

In this scenario I would be concerned with the residual metallic lithium eventually igniting when it came in contact with moisture. Just the moisture from the air can get it going to ignition temperature of flammable materials.

[ez24]

The last one... WTF... 

Looks like they were seeing how loud it would be.  My guess it was loud enough/

Lots of Darwin wannabes

[ez24]

Lucky no nuclear explosion, since H bombs are made with lithium.  I wonder if he would have pulled that trigger knowing this?

[helius]

  right. Totally possible.

[G7PSK]

H bombs use lithium tritide as a source of tritium and need a nuclear fission device to ignite it. Lithium batteries now are lithium phosphate and it dose not burn very well, lithium cobalt on the other hand burns very well.

[German_EE]

"H bombs use lithium tritide as a source of tritium and need a nuclear fission device to ignite it"

Just think, until a few years ago that information was highly classified and if you revealed it to a foreign power you would probably spend a long time in a prison cell. Only this week I watched a documentary where Tony Robinson visited a former RAF base where the parts for Britain's nuclear bombs were stored and the man being interviewed said that he still felt very uncomfortable talking about where he worked.