By Peter Weiss
Electric-vehicle developers find lithium-based batteries attractive because the cells pack a lot of power into a relatively small, lightweight package. Yet carmakers are leery of the batteries because the devices are prone to runaway heating, a fire hazard (SN: 2/12/00, p. 103: Stopping batteries from starting fires).
One possible way to reduce that danger is to use any unwelcome heat to melt wax or some other substance. This strategy could keep the cells safely cool and also improve battery performance.