I'm not sure if this is the right forum to post in, but it deals with energy and heat so I decided it'd be best . Anyways:

Me and my roommate were building a simple circuit to light up LEDs when the door was locked. When I taped the 9v battery to the wooden cieling, I started working on running the wire through the door area. Once I got the wire up to the battery (before I connected ANYTHING) I felt the battery, and it was extremely hot. Afraid it was going to explode (it was that hot) I put it in a protective case and put it in the refrigerator.

It seems like there is a short, but I'm not sure how this is possible. we've had this battery for several days, and it wasn't until I put it on the cieling that this happened. Any explanations/suggestions are greatly appreciated.



-Kevin

Have you tried it with another battery? I would try that but I wouldn't leave it unattended. Assuming the same thing doesn't happen, I'd chalk it up to a defect in the battery.

What exactly the defect is, I couldn't say, but you're right that it does sound like there is some sort of short.

Nine volters deliver a little more juice than other household batteries (enough so that they may be tested by putting the terminal end on your tongue - ouch). You hear stories of people throwing them into bags of nails that eventually catch fire, or of pockets getting hot that contain both a 9v battery and keys.

Most tapes are insulators; was the battery touching a nail? Absent any evidence of a conductor touching the battery's terminals, I'd get a new battery!

Do you happen to keep your batteries in the refrigerator? According to several independent tests, this does not make them last longer.

well the refrigerator was only to cool it down momentairly (and through the process I lost .8 volts) but upon removing it, I haven't had a problem since it... It wasn't touching any metal objects, it was only on a wood veneer. The battery was brand new, so we'll probably just get another and try with that one.