June 25, 1979 - Fire Breaks Out at Oxford Laboratory
In a tragedy that rocked the academic world, a laboratory researching battery advances was consumed by flames at the University of Oxford's Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory. Numerous researchers were injured and several killed, including visiting professor Koichi Mizushima from the University of Tokyo and John B. Goodenough, head of the laboratory. Professor Goodenough had been a research scientist at MIT previously, contributing to efforts in random access magnetic memory (RAM) that would be fundamental to breakthroughs in computing.
The laboratory had been making efforts to improve upon the research of chemist M. Stanley Whittingham, who had through the 1970s experimented with using lithium ions for a new, and much more energy-dense, rechargeable battery. Exxon had worked with Whittingham to make the batteries commercially available, but the batteries proved too dangerous in overheating and even bursting into flame. Although many hoped for a solution using something other than titanium disulfide in the structure of the lithium-based cathode. The fire soured the international mood on lithium for rechargeable batteries, even overshadowing Rachid Yazami's discoveries with graphite in a lithium battery anode shortly thereafter. The chemistry world turned toward nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) batteries for practical rechargeability.
Meanwhile, the world at large was changing radically from a widespread surge in electronics. Improvements in automation caused manufacturing to grow, which supplied an insatiable demand for the next big thing. In music alone, boomboxes gave way to Walkmans, which were eclipsed by disc players, which in turn gave way to MP3 players in the early new millennium. The Internet and gaming fueled a need for more powerful computers, many of which gained portability through adding battery power sources. Although "laptops" today are not uncommon, most computers remain plugged in and situated on desktops. Cell phones are perhaps the biggest game-changers in recent history, allowing people all over the planet to be instantly connected, although they remain fairly large hand-held devices.
Through all of the technological growth of electronics, energy to power them is a major concern. Visionaries like Steve Jobs hoped for a world like something out of Star Trek with readily available portable devices, but length of usable time was a constant battle. Jobs, who led Apple during its heyday, did well competing with other MP3 players with the iPod and promoting additional functionality in cell phones with the iPhone. The iPad, introduced shortly before his passing, however, proved to be a flop as it was too heavy to use comfortably. Later, more efficient tablets became used for gaming, streaming, and social media, but they are most often plugged in during use.
By 2023, most technology remains wired. Most devices abandoned having enough batteries to last for an entire day when people could plug them in overnight while sleeping. Instead, large, multi-battery chargers may be found in many homes and automobiles where people constantly swap out batteries for their handheld devices. Ultimately the rechargeable NiMH batteries become worn out, and they themselves must be replaced, leading to concerns about landfills and recycling.
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In reality, there was no fire, and John Goodenough's efforts in energy-storage chemistry helped revolutionize the technological world. Goodenough passed away June 25, 2023, as the oldest living Nobel Prize winner. He shared his prize with Whittingham and Askira Yoshino, who used a carbonaceous anode for the first commercially successful lithium-ion battery. These batteries, with a specific energy density nearly half-again, almost double the lifecycle, and a fraction of the discharge of Ni-MH, made compact, portable electronics much more feasible.
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