Do you feel that the battery of your wireless headphones drains faster than that of other devices? You might not be wrong: researchers have explored how the design of gadgets can influence this.
Button batteries are losing their charge, and researchers are working to find solutions.
New research analyzes the degradation of batteries in different devices, suggesting that design may have a greater impact than previously thought. Understanding these issues could enable the creation of more durable technology. It has recently been confirmed that batteries are losing charge unpredictably, and this phenomenon is not limited to common AA batteries, but focuses on the internal batteries of devices such as wireless headphones.
A study conducted by international researchers from the University of Texas at Austin, using X-ray and infrared technology, seeks to clarify why some batteries drain faster than expected. This effort was prompted by the experiences of associate professor Yijin Liu, who noticed that after two years of use, one headphone had a significantly longer battery life than the other.
The team's findings indicate that real-world factors, such as sudden temperature changes and air quality, can long-term damage the lifespan of the batteries in our devices. This is surprising, as batteries are usually tested under extreme conditions in laboratories.
The positioning of internal components can also negatively affect the health of the battery in headphones, causing subtle conflicts with the battery chemistry. These differences in user environments have led researchers to reconsider the design of electronic devices to make them more resilient to various external conditions.
Additionally, they have conducted a series of experiments in collaboration with international laboratories to delve deeper into the actual degradation of batteries. Research has been carried out at places like Brookhaven National Laboratory and the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility in France, with the aim of discovering how and why batteries respond differently in everyday life compared to laboratories.
What this implies for consumers and their headphones in the future is that advanced X-ray imaging technology could be crucial. It has been suggested that it is necessary to understand and react to the differences between laboratory conditions and the unpredictable nature of daily use to develop new types of batteries.
Nonetheless, the development of solid-state batteries, which many consider the future of technology, remains a challenge. If Liu and his team make advancements in their research on the influence of external factors on battery health, we could extend the lifespan of current batteries or at least recognize the importance of opting for easily replaceable batteries.
