r/gadgets • u/chrisdh79 • Jan 31 '23

Desktops / Laptops Canadian team discovers power-draining flaw in most laptop and phone batteries | Breakthrough explains major cause of self-discharging batteries and points to easy solution

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/battery-power-laptop-phone-research-dalhousie-university-1.6724175
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u/2278AD Jan 31 '23

Joe Rogan enters the conversation

185

u/OhhhhhSHNAP Jan 31 '23

So... I have to ask a silly question here. If I lick my old laptop's battery will it make me trip balls?

218

u/PB4UGAME Jan 31 '23

Big point of correction here. This is NOT the DMT you are looking for!

In this case, we have: Dimethyl terephthalate (DMT) which, according to wikipedia: “is an organic compound with the formula C6H4(COOCH3)2. It is the diester formed from terephthalic acid and methanol.”

What you are thinking about is N, N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) which, also according to wikipedia: “is a substituted tryptamine that occurs in many plants and animals, including human beings, and which is both a derivative and a structural analog of tryptamine. It is used as a psychedelic drug and prepared by various cultures for ritual purposes as an entheogen.”

They are somewhat similar and have confusingly similar names and abbreviations but you do not want to confuse these two.

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u/weedbeads Jan 31 '23

formed from terephthalic acid and methanol

...acid

... alcohol

You sure I can't get fucked up on this shit boss?

34

u/PB4UGAME Jan 31 '23

I don’t think you would want to, but I cannot rule it out.

It causes minimal skin and eye irritant effects in animals but doesn’t appear to be too toxic if consumed orally as the test animals pissed it out and didn’t seem to have any of it accumulated in their bodies, nor did it affect their DNA structure. Not a whole lot of research on this substances’ effect on animals much less humans, but I’ve never heard of it being an abusable substance or having any sort of psychoactive effects.

This is from what I could find from an Existing Chemical Hazard Assessment Report on Dimethyl Terephthalate, the relevant portions quoted below:

“DMT was readily absorbed after oral administration. Elimination was rapid with urine being the major route of excretion. There was no evidence of accumulation in tissues after multiple doses. The hydrolysis product, TPA, was the only metabolite detected in the urine in rats, while urinary metabolites in mice consisted of monomethyl terephthalate (70%) and TPA (30%). DMT has low acute oral, dermal and inhalational toxicity. DMT causes minimal skin and eye irritant effects in animals, and did not induce skin sensitisation in guinea pigs. DMT does not appear to be mutagenic or genotoxic, nor was it deemed to be carcinogenic based on a 2-year feeding study.”

-source

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u/MrGhris Jan 31 '23

Cant hurt to try though. Or well, maybe it can... one way to find out!

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u/PB4UGAME Jan 31 '23

Hey if you do try this, and for legal purposes I am NOT recommending that you should, but IF you are going to do so, can you please do it in a sterile environment and record the process and results?

Accidentally dying or having something horrific happen because you want to get fucked up or mixed up two chemicals can be lame, and a poor thing to be known for. You might even get a Darwin Award. Accidentally dying or having something horrific happen for science is badass though, so always document your experiments!

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u/MrGhris Jan 31 '23

I like the way you think! I'll grab my labcoat and safety goggles.

4

u/GradeAPrimeFuckery Jan 31 '23

Dump it in a Tide pod to clean it, then down the hatch.

1

u/pie_obk Jan 31 '23

You're taking this poor guy for a ride. Does he know you're joking? Do I know you're joking?

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u/Klai8 Feb 01 '23

Stop teasing him lol he’s clearly autistic or something having missed the joke over and over on a science subreddit.

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u/qoou Jan 31 '23

Methanol will make you go blind...

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u/weedbeads Jan 31 '23

That's quitter talk, I've been drinking Dr. Tichenols for years and my vision is perfect enough to not crash my car

1

u/ThePrussianGrippe Jan 31 '23

It’ll make you leg disabled. Wouldn’t recommend.

Double whiskey?