It looks like you're using an Ad Blocker.
Please white-list or disable AboveTopSecret.com in your ad-blocking tool.
Thank you.
Some features of ATS will be disabled while you continue to use an ad-blocker.
(visit the link for the full news article)
Apple attempted to silence a father and daughter with a gagging order after the child’s iPod music player exploded and the family sought a refund from the company.
The Times has learnt that the company would offer the family a full refund only if they were willing to sign a settlement form. The proposed agreement left them open to legal action if they ever disclosed the terms of the settlement.
The case echoes previous circumstances in which Apple attempted to hush up incidents when its devices overheated.
Ken Stanborough of Liverpool, England, said he dropped his 11-year-old daughter Ellie’s iPod Touch last month.
“It made a hissing noise,” he said. “I could feel it getting hotter in my hand, and I thought I could see vapor." Stanborough said he threw the device out of his back door. "Within 30 seconds there was a pop, a big puff of smoke and it went 10 feet in the air," he said.
Originally posted by TLomon
A lot of people have iPods. My wife has one. For an iPod to explode like that - it make me wonder. What exactly causes an electronic device to pop like that?
The exact reaction that generates the electrons varies, depending on the type of battery. In a lithium-ion battery, you'll find pressurized containers that house a coil of metal and a flammable, lithium-containing liquid. The manufacturing process creates tiny pieces of metal that float in the liquid. Manufacturers can't completely prevent these metal fragments, but good manufacturing techniques limit their size and number. The cells of a lithium-ion battery also contain separators that keep the anodes and cathodes, or positive and negative poles, from touching each other.
If the battery gets hot through use or recharging, the pieces of metal can move around, much like grains of rice in a pot of water. If a piece of metal gets too close to the separator, it can puncture the separator and cause a short circuit. There are a few possible scenarios for what can go wrong in the case of a short circuit:
* If it creates a spark, the flammable liquid can ignite, causing a fire.
* If it causes the temperature inside the battery to rise rapidly, the battery can explode due to the increased pressure.
* If it causes the temperature to rise slowly, the battery can melt, and the liquid inside can leak out.
Originally posted by Merigold
Totally off topic but....
Why would an 11 year old girl have an ITouch? What is wrong with us!?!
This will be the same people who's mortgage they will want me to fund when they can't pay it.
Pathetic.
Originally posted by TLomon
A lot of people have iPods. My wife has one. For an iPod to explode like that - it make me wonder. What exactly causes an electronic device to pop like that?