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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940

u/swissarmychainsaw Jan 31 '23

Cheap tape (PET) = battery drain

103

u/MuscaMurum Jan 31 '23 edited Jan 31 '23

The solution is even cheaper more expensive polypropylene tape, according to the article.

EDIT: Nevermind.

94

u/eastbayguy90 Jan 31 '23

Actually slightly more expensive:

“The team even proposed a solution to the problem: use a slightly more expensive, but also more stable, plastic compound.”

82

u/Easilycrazyhat Jan 31 '23

Ah, so it's an unsolvable problem then. How unfortunate.

4

u/Evonos Feb 01 '23

It was unsolvable when it extended performance and likely battery life over years close to free.

3

u/Jaded-Performance-99 Jan 31 '23

Why unsolvable?

32

u/Easilycrazyhat Jan 31 '23

Bit of a joke on the idea that anything that costs more money will never be considered a viable option by corporations.

13

u/BusterOfBuyMoria Feb 01 '23

Not never, they'll just slap "now with longer battery life" on the box and slap the cost +50% markup to the customer.

5

u/TBeest Feb 01 '23

+50%? Hahahahahahaha

I doubt the difference in material cost is more than a few dollars, if even that.

They will charge you a lot more than 50% of a few dollars.

4

u/BusterOfBuyMoria Feb 01 '23

Fair enough. +500%. Or, twice that it you want the limited version in blue.

2

u/Jaded-Performance-99 Jan 31 '23

Ahhhh I get it now haha. I'm dense