Just as the space race proved fertile ground for invention and innovation, so too is the education of the world’s children.

Are you now saying “HUH ?”

You may or may not have been the recipient of a recall letter for your laptop battery. You may or may not enjoy air travel. Now the two collide …

New US DOT Hazmat Safety Rule to Place Lithium Battery Limits in Carry-on Baggage on Passenger Aircraft Effective January 1, 2008. Passengers will no longer be able to pack loose lithium batteries in checked luggage … to reduce the risk of lithium battery fires.

What does this have to do with the OLPC ? Well, the laptop designed for the OLPC Foundation needed to handle some pretty harsh environments, including operating in very hot, desert conditions – even being tested to 140 degrees while *running* !

Traditional laptop batters are not designed for high temperature environments but the OLPC XO’s battery is. The new LiFePO4 battery and more temperature tolerant that previous batter technologies. They don’t have as good a weight:energy ratio as Lithium ion cells and hopefully that will change too.

So, could you pack a dozen of these batteries in your checked baggage ? Legally “yes” but unless the NTSB airport security crews have degrees in metallurgy and chemistry, I doubt you will get away with it.