A few days ago I was struggling with some electronic piece of kit and thinking how simple life was when almost everything that didn't plug into a wall socket, was powered by a couple of U2 batteries.
Now there is a bewildering number of formats, sizes, useful life and Heaven knows what else. Oh, and prices, of course.
Rechargeables seem to be available as
NiCd,
NiMH and
Li-Ion varieties with
LiFePo4 starting to make an appearance.
Each seems to have its own characteristics and has to be handled differently to other rechargeables.
Li-Ion batteries come with dire safety warnings about how they should be used and maintained for fear of them catching fire.
I understand that they are prohibited from being carried as freight on commercial passenger flights due to safety concerns.
Why are things so complicated?