小到手機、筆電，大到電動車、城市電網，處處可見鋰電池。但華爾街日報評論指出，南韓電池工廠大火，提醒世人鋰電池的風險不可輕忽：一方面是鋰電池火災，用水不見得有效，而且釋放的有毒氣體，可能還比火焰早一步取人性命，此外，鋰電池火災高溫，是一般家戶火災的五倍以上，目前的防護裝置可能都無法抵禦，增加救援難度。



Lithium Batteries Are Set to Power the World—and Pose New Fire Risks



To the makers of smartphones, power grids and electric vehicles, lithium—the lightest metal—allows batteries to become supercharged, underpinning hopes for a greener economy and longer-lasting devices.



But the very traits that make lithium game changing for energy storage can pose overpowering challenges should the batteries ever catch fire. Incidents involving lithium-battery fires are becoming more common around the world, raising safety concerns.



Water isn’t always an effective combatant for certain types of lithium-battery fires, leaving little option other than waiting things out or using costly suppressants. Combating fires involving lithium-batteries can be difficult due to the emission of toxic gases. Then there is the heat: The fire’s ignition is more intense than an oxy-acetylene torch, which can be roughly 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit or more, or about five times hotter than many house fires.



lithium 鋰

pose 擺姿勢、引發、造成

electric 用電驅動的

underpin 支撐

device 裝置

game changing 改寫產業規則的

overpowering 強烈的

combatant 戰士

suppressant 抑制劑

emission 排放

toxic 有毒的

oxy-acetylene 氧乙炔(熔接常使用之物質)

torch 火炬、火焰噴嘴

Fahrenheit 華氏 （Celsius 攝氏)





原文網址：https://www.wsj.com/world/asia/lithium-batteries-are-set-to-power-the-worldand-pose-new-fire-risks-6ac07247

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