iPod Dangerous When Wet 531
puggsincyberspace writes "What do you do when your mom washes your iPod? Fix it, of course. A teenager in Australia found out the hard way that messing with the insides of his iPod is dangerous and needed medical attention after it exploded."
iPod Killer? (Score:5, Funny)
Hey... (Score:5, Funny)
Somehow I don't think iPods will be making to an eBay auction either.
The instructions specifically said... (Score:4, Funny)
NEWS FLASH! (Score:3, Funny)
Jabbing screwdrivers into soaking-wet Lithium-Ion batteries is a bad idea.
More on this stunning news as it develops.
Re:iPod Killer? (Score:4, Funny)
iPod bombs... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:iPod bombs... (Score:2, Funny)
Re:iPod bombs... (Score:5, Funny)
I heard somewhere that (Score:5, Funny)
Re:I heard somewhere that (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:I heard somewhere that (Score:5, Insightful)
More times I've seen devices that don't even have the power to lightly shock you, but are , imo, just made that way so once it breaks, you're fudged, and you have to buy a new one (long live the quick-consumer society we're living in).
For example, my Logitech mouses, all are a hell to get opened : Once opened, it's even more trouble to get them closed up again.
While a mouse isn't a million dollar investment, I find it very consumer-unfriendly that I am not able to, for example, replace my right-mouse-button myself after it fails to work properly.
Re:I heard somewhere that (Score:3, Interesting)
It cost me 5 Euros instead of ~ 90 Euros. (Power supplies are strangely more expensive in European countries rather than in North America).
The tech told me he does this all the time and it's simple as hell.
I know that, from all things, non-tech people should
Re:Logitech (Score:3, Interesting)
Running a thin, blunt knife e.g. a small butter knife or screwdriver around the joins should reveal where the plastic lugs are. Then insert similar shims at each locked point until the container pops open. It takes a bit of practice but if you're careful you soon learn the tolerance of the material - i.e. how hard to apply pressure before anything snaps. Also - check there aren't any screws hidden behind sticky labels etc. by running your finger over them and feeling for giveaway circular depressions. When
Re:I heard somewhere that (Score:3, Informative)
Conversely, I was able to unscrew the cover of my last CRT monitor and get inside quite easily (after it had been off for a week). Anyone who knows anything about monitors knows that an end-user should *not* be messing around inside on of these (ob-warning: The capacitors i
Re:I heard somewhere that (Score:3, Funny)
Re:I heard somewhere that (Score:3, Interesting)
Actually, I heard that getting wet for electronic devices is a common occurance among the females of the species. Admittedly, it can be dangerous when they come to prefer them to the biological alternative, but shorting out the batteries to the metal casing usually takes care of that after one application.
However, getting electronic devices wet is probably a Bad Idea. Stabbing them with your screwdriver just makes it worse.
Re:I heard somewhere that (Score:2)
Re:I heard somewhere that (Score:3, Funny)
Re:I heard somewhere that (Score:5, Funny)
Re:I heard somewhere that (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:I heard somewhere that (Score:3, Funny)
Re:I heard somewhere that (Score:3, Funny)
but.. dude, it exploded in his pocket
Not unless he was wearing his bed at the time.
Re:I heard somewhere that (Score:5, Funny)
If you really want to take your iPod apart, there are instructions all over the place online. I've never done it (don't even own one), so I can't vouch for how safe it is, but I'm thinking they should all add a new "step one": Wait for iPod to dry.
Re:I heard somewhere that (Score:5, Insightful)
The tool probably damaged the lithium ion battery pack.
Those things turn into small flamethrowers when nicked with a knife or other pointy object.
They're even more dangerous when they're shorted (which soapy water is apt to do to batteries, naturally), although I presume the kid let it dry before poking at it.
It's one of the reasons why most lithium ion batteries come in a hard case (like mobile phone and laptop batteries).
Of course, for the consumer device market, that're not designed to be openable, they often use soft cells (less weight).
This is one of the reasons I much prefer my Iriver H140 that has a lithium polymer battery instead. Supposedly, lithium polymer's not supposed to go up in flames when the packaging is compromised.
Andrew
Re:I heard somewhere that (Score:3, Funny)
I was dissapointed when I RTFA.
"there was an explosion, or more of a pop."
Then from, "burned a hole in the bed" to "It was more smoke than fire but it did leave a burn mark on the cover."
So, no explosion, no fire. Just a kid who inhaled a little smoke.
Sounds to me like a teenager having a good time...
The kid pierced the Li Ion battery with a screwdri (Score:5, Insightful)
The kid tried to argue with the laws of physics, and as always - lost.
Re:The kid pierced the Li Ion battery with a screw (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:The kid pierced the Li Ion battery with a screw (Score:5, Funny)
I for one would spend my free time sitting in the park looking out for gyrating youths and betting with my friends whether they were dancing or in severe pain from their exploding portable music players.
Hours of fun.... But then I don't get out much
Re:The kid pierced the Li Ion battery with a screw (Score:2)
How do you know? It doesn't say that in the article. He might've just shorted the battery, which could also cause it to explode.
Re:The kid pierced the Li Ion battery with a screw (Score:5, Informative)
Re:The kid pierced the Li Ion battery with a screw (Score:2, Funny)
Watching an actual news story (as opposed to only watching the "And coming up at 11: 3 year old invents flying car...") is tantamount to R'ing the FA and will be punished by -5 Troll.
Re:The kid pierced the Li Ion battery with a screw (Score:5, Informative)
There are 3 common ways for LiIon batteries to explode.
1. Short circut.
2. Overcharging.
3. Physical.
As explosions is a way to ask for being sued, most manufacturers have short circut tests as part of manufacturing. Charge regulators are also put into the casing of the battery or in the appliance (Ipod, cellphone etc). Just to make sure no law suits come from 1. and 2.
The only thing they can't protect themselves from is physical abuse on the battery itself. Like screwdriver through it.
Re:The kid pierced the Li Ion battery with a screw (Score:5, Funny)
You don't always lose. In Kansas, the second law of thermodynamics is illegal. Apparently people there live for ever.
Re:The kid pierced the Li Ion battery with a screw (Score:4, Informative)
In Soviet Russia, X Ys YOU!
In Korea, only old people X!
In Kansas, X is illegal!
Re:In Kansas, slashdot memes are illegal? (Score:4, Funny)
>I was there at the birth of the 'In Korea' meme, and it came across as a contrived attempt to create a meme and out-Soviet 'Soviet Russia'.
"The Golden Age of the Slash-??? is over!"
I coined it first!
Re:The kid pierced the Li Ion battery with a screw (Score:5, Funny)
Re:The kid pierced the Li Ion battery with a screw (Score:3, Funny)
Thats right.... He must be the real killer..!!
What?! (Score:4, Funny)
Great (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Great (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Great (Score:2)
Re:Great (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Great (Score:3, Interesting)
The power density of a *jelly donut* is higher than TNT, FFS! Batteries can't even hold a CANDLE to a JELLY DONUT!
In other news... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:In other news... (Score:5, Funny)
"Experts say kids in less danger if they play it safe"
Where do they find these experts in the oft-astounding field of common-fucking-sense?
The Kid Isn't Alright (Score:4, Funny)
The kid was trying to fix his ipod on his BED after his MOM washed it . . . he is far from fine.
Re:The Kid Isn't Alright (Score:2)
At least we now know the name of one next year's nominees to the Darwin Awards
In other news.. (Score:5, Funny)
Re:In other news.. (Score:2)
Possibly beryllium oxide (Score:4, Informative)
About 15 minutes later (I hadn't been feeling too good), I collapsed and was taken to hospital.
BeO is highly toxic by ingestion and inhalation (Material Safety Data Sheet: http://physchem.ox.ac.uk/MSDS/BE/beryllium_oxide.
).
Apparently it is one of the more common toxic substances emitted in smoke/fumes. Particularly in domestic / non-chemical-factory settings.
Re:Possibly beryllium oxide (Score:2)
Re:Possibly beryllium oxide (Score:2, Funny)
I should shower more often. I have a lot of BeO when I don't.
Re:Possibly beryllium oxide - Rubbish. (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Possibly beryllium oxide (Score:2)
Re:Possibly beryllium oxide (Score:2)
This boy has a great future... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:This boy has a great future... (Score:3, Interesting)
Cell phone down the toilet? (Score:2)
If you take the battery off right away, and don't put it back on until everything dries thoroughly, it will work fine at least for a while. If the water was dirty, some connections inside may go bad after a few months from corrosion, though, so it does make sense to take the phone apart and clean the contacts with alcohol.
If you don't take off the battery, it would probably never work again.
Electronics Surviving the Wash (Score:2, Interesting)
One drunken evening it got put into the wash - a full cycle. When I found it in the shirt pocket afterwards, it was full of water... there was a bubble in there too so it was more useful as a spirit level.
I tried to turn it on (you never know) but no joy - so I put it in a cupboard and forgot about it.
Four years later I found it again (thoroughly dried out) and tried turning it on -
Hah hah .. "saved the rest of Melbourne" .. (Score:2, Funny)
horrible place.
How does this look? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:How does this look? (Score:2)
for real fun (Score:2)
Way the hell back when multilayer PC boards were so expensive that technicians had to fix them instead of tossing them (1980s), an human PCB assembler put one in backwards and it exploded on first powerup. I suppose I should count myself lucky that it only destroyed about a square inch of printed circuit board.
Had to rewire all the burned traces by hand over a couple or 3 unpleasant hours.
no... (Score:2)
I never heard of Third World offshoring until a different employer years later asked me to do an analysis of the idea and whether or not it was prac
iPod? (Score:2, Funny)
Two words (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Two words (Score:2, Troll)
If.. (Score:2)
iPod Dangerous When Wet (Score:3, Funny)
Rumour has it... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Rumour has it... (Score:2)
Do not eat iPod. Either.
Re:Rumour has it... (Score:2)
-Apple Computer, Inc.
nice title (Score:5, Funny)
Teenager's iPod goes boom - Breaking - Technology - theage.com.au
That's breaking technology alright.
iPod-icide (Score:3, Funny)
Damn kids and their modern technology.... (Score:5, Interesting)
Same with cellphones, flash keys, etc. But noooo, someone had to go and put rustable moving parts into mp3 players...
Nice tabloid journalism there... (Score:5, Insightful)
You don't see what really happened until much further down the article (around 3/4 of the way through) emphasis mine:
Gotta love the media. Anything for a sensational headline.
H
Maccas (Score:5, Funny)
McDonalds coffee myth *again* (Score:5, Informative)
Read this [centerjd.org] and note particularly point 12:-
McDonald's admitted that its coffee is "not fit for consumption" when sold because it causes severe scalds if spilled or drunk.
McDonalds admitted its coffee was 40 to 50 degrees hotter than is fit for human consumption [216.239.59.104] (Google cache; article is gone from original website).
Lithium poly batteries the cause (Score:5, Informative)
With model aircraft, we use them a lot for our electric motors however they carry with them a lot of cautions. If you should happen to rupture or over charge them it's time to STAND CLEAR.
Typically a lipo will puff up for a bit then have a fairly impressive flame out (as the lithium starts burning). I'd personally be worried about the guy if he inhaled too much of the fumes, it's fairly toxic.
Oh, he probably ruptured the battery with the screwdriver. Normally if we have a "dud" cell, we put the cells into a bucket of salt water and then puncture the cells (UNDER WATER), the cells will bubble quite a bit and eventually after a few hours settle down.
Re:Lithium poly batteries the cause (Score:5, Funny)
"Man decapitated while puncturing batteries in bucket of salt water"
Re:Lithium poly batteries the cause (Score:3, Interesting)
Potassium made a nice little splash, Rubidium produced a decent explosion and Caesium blew chunks out of the t
Only in Australia (Score:2)
To quote the article:
This kid wouldn't perchance live in... (Score:5, Funny)
Warranty anyone? (Score:2, Interesting)
Now why couldn't our exploding friend do the same?
DRM (Score:2, Funny)
So what? (Score:2)
Minor Breathing Difficulties (Score:2)
This illustrates Apple's mistake nicely (Score:2)
I suspect they didn't to avoid creating an iPod battery third party market, but the result is that once the iPod battery is bad, the whole (expensive) thing is essentially bad. I think it's not very consumer friendly.
Shh! (Score:2)
Never short a battery (Score:3, Informative)
Trust me, a broken battery makes quite a mess.
Now on Slashdot (Score:3, Funny)
Why? (Score:2)
There was probably a short from the water getting in, and the constant voltage / current built up the charge on the capacitor which eventually was too high for its design, arced across the insulator, and blew up... I used to do stuff like that in Electronics class in high school. Big puff of smoke and paper debris.
Hopefully it wasn't a battery... then you get into some nasty chemicals.
Re:Why? (Score:2)
It's just a hacker. (Score:2, Insightful)
It's a stupid accident I have to admit. But isn't mucking about with stuff you don't (yet) understand one of the trademarks of the true hacker?
Cut him some slack. It could well be possible he could've gotten the moist out before the oxidation got too worse. With a bit of luck he could have re-assembled it and be listening to it right now.
He's learned a lot of things now, maybe he'll do
Another wet ipod (Score:5, Interesting)
There may have been something happening with the washing powder in solution or water being forced into various places by the high Gs at high spin; however as I opened up my ipod it was completely inert. Something really strange must have happened to pierce his battery (solid Li skids around and pops a little when placed on top of water); however then you would expect it to have happened inside the washing machine. The implication there is that he pierced the battery with the screwdriver, which is no mean feat since it's around a 180 corner when you're trying to get in. Makes me wonder exactly what he was trying to do at the time.
This is not very new.. (Score:3, Interesting)
Waaay back in the early 70's I worked as an Engineer in the Texas Instruments Calculator division. We purposefully tested calculators to destruction to see what sort of trouble people could cause by doing stupid things. One thing we learned early on was that it was stupid of **us** to use the standard 3.5 mm jacks for chargers if the jack was connected directly to the batteries because you can short then during normal insertion. This was brought home to us graphically when that scenario happened on a desk model scientific calculator that had NiCad C-cells! Nobody was hurt but the calculator was destroyed internally. This led to the use of the barrell type connectors you see nowadays for power connections. Another design thing we did was to use small gage wire to connect the batteries so that the wire would "fuse" before other "bad stuff" happened.
Back to the destructive testing.. We tried using the wrong chargers, including those from various other manufacturers and escalated on up to applying 120 VAC to the charging terminals. We also, where the batteries were in an externally accessible holder, tried other similar sized batteries, alkaline and carbon-zinc dry cells. All testing was done inside a sturdy wooden enclosure. The worst-case situations sounded like someone had fired a 12 gauge shot-gun in there. In that case, where 120 Vac was applied to carbon-zinc cells, the carbon rods had gone through the side of the plastic calculator case.
It's clear to me that people can mess up most anything. Albert Einstein is quoted as saying, "Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe.". I'm in agreement.
Re:All I have to say is (Score:5, Insightful)
I think this is where RFID could help a LOT. There's just no reason for electronics class device to be inside a washing machine.
Re:Li-Ion battery ? (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Proves You're an Asshole Troll (Score:2)
Ron Bennett
Re:What he should have done (Score:2)
I took the battery out and opened the laptop up and let it sit for a few hours. It works just fine.
I did a stupid thing and tried to turn it on right away
If I had to guess the mobo has some short circuit detector and just wouldn't start. I know PSUs in desktops have a similar functionality [really crappy motherboards back in the day].
Tom