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  • linear cannonlinear@nya.social
    Oct 14, 2026, 8:04 PM
    @diazona@techhub.social @nyhan@fediscience.org @ireneista@adhd.irenes.space so with the knowledge that the percentage your computer tells you is only a guess, here's what lithium battery cells really like:

    they like being at 3.7 volts. they tolerate being charged as high as 4.2 volts, or discharged as low as 3.2 volts, maybe even 3.0.

    3.7v is very "sticky", though. you can charge it up to 4.2, but it will quickly drop to 3.7 and stay there for a long time, before eventually sharply dropping once it runs out. this is why the fuel gauge has to guess - it's at 3.7v most of the time.

    but the longer and the more it is outside that 3.7v range, and the harder you are driving the battery while it is, the more chemical reactions will happen that reduce its ability to hold charge the next time around.

    so, what you really want to do, to prolong the battery in your laptop as long as possible, is to stay out of those ranges, and keep your battery in the middle. don't let it fully discharge, and don't let it charge all the way up either, if you can help it (but that's better than running it dry)
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  • linear cannonlinear@nya.social
    Oct 14, 2026, 8:30 PM
    @diazona@techhub.social @nyhan@fediscience.org @ireneista@adhd.irenes.space

    for the record, my qualifications:

    i have been shipping industrial and commercial devices with batteries throughout my ~10 year career in embedded device development and have been responsible for making sure those batteries wouldn't blow up in people's cars or pockets or hands. this has not been the main focus of my job, but i have given it the requisite care and research i think such a thing deserves.

    i rebuild laptop battery packs, and my dad rebuilds hybrid car battery packs. i experiment with new battery chemistries as soon as they come out and build my own chargers from them out of spare parts i have lying around. blowing up batteries this way is very easy. i have not blown up a battery since 2016.

    i currently work in the energy field, with people whose specialties are in such things, including things like large grid-scale battery facilities.
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