Battery damage
- From: martin <martin.reynolds@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 03 Aug 2007 23:45:01 -0000
OK, so I am cleaning up a messed-up board. I have come to the
conclusion that the damage from battery leakage is neither acid nor
alkali, but someting else entirely - mercury damage. Potassium
hydroxide is neutralized too quickly to explain the incredible
thoroughness of battery damage.
Alkaline cells still contain a lttle mercury. When I was a kid, I
discovered that mercury causes certain metals to grow trees, dendritic
growths that can get a couple of inches high at a surprising rate.
There's no literature that I have found describing this phenomenon.
My theory is that the metal dissolves in the mercury, which is now
stripped of any protective coating and exposed to the atmosphere. The
air reacts with the metal, forming oxides, which precipitate out of
the mercury, forming the tree. The mercury can now dissolve more
metal, continuing the process without being consumed.
I suspect that the same thing can happen with copper. It is the only
way that I can explain the amount of damage, and the way it travels
down traces underneath the protective film, eating them up as it
passes.
This theory also explains why the board has to be sanded to eliinate
further corrosion.
Anybody else seen these trees? Any other ideas?
.
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