A lithium polymer battery, or more correctly lithium-ion polymer battery (abbreviated variously as LiPo, LIP, Li-poly and others), is a rechargeable battery of lithium-ion technology in a pouch format. Unlike cylindrical and prismatic cells, LiPos come in a soft package or pouch, which makes them lighter but also less rigid.
The designation "lithium polymer" has caused confusion among battery users because it can be interpreted in two ways. Originally, "lithium polymer" represented a developing technology using a polymer electrolyte instead of the more common liquid electrolyte. The result is a "plastic" cell, which theoretically could be thin, flexible, and manufactured in different shapes, without risk of electrolyte leakage. These batteries are available although the technology has not been fully developed and commercialized, and research is ongoing.
The second meaning appeared after some manufacturers applied the "polymer" designation to lithium-ion cells contained in a non-rigid pouch format. This is currently the most popular use, in which "polymer" refers more to a "polymer casing" (that is, the soft, external container) rather than a "polymer electrolyte". While the design is usually flat, and lightweight, it is not truly a polymer cell, since the electrolyte is still in liquid form, although it may be "plasticized" or "gelled" through a polymer additive. These cells are sometimes designated as "LiPo"; however, from a technological point of view, they are the same as the ones marketed simply as "Li-ion", since the underlying electrochemistry is the same.
Li Bai (701 – 762), also known as Li Po, was a Chinese poet acclaimed from his own day to the present as a genius and a romantic figure who took traditional poetic forms to new heights. He and his friend Du Fu (712–770) were the two most prominent figures in the flourishing of Chinese poetry in the Tang Dynasty that is often called the "Golden Age of China". The expression "Three Wonders" referred to Li Bai’s poetry, Pei Min’s swordplay, and Zhang Xu’s calligraphy.
Around a thousand poems attributed to him are extant. His poems have been collected into four Tang dynasty poetry anthologies, and thirty-four of his poems are included in the anthology Three Hundred Tang Poems, which was first published in the 18th century. In the same century, translations of his poems began to appear in Europe. The poems were models for celebrating the pleasures of friendship, the depth of nature, solitude, and the joys of drinking wine. Among the most famous are "Waking from Drunkenness on a Spring Day", "The Hard Road to Shu", and "Quiet Night Thought", which still appear in school texts in China. In the West, multi-lingual translations of Li's poems continue to be made. His life has even taken on a legendary aspect, including tales of drunkenness, chivalry, and the well-known fable that Li drowned when he reached from his boat to grasp the moon’s reflection in the river.
Li Po is a crater on Mercury. It has a diameter of 120 kilometers. Its name was adopted by the International Astronomical Union in 1976. Li Po is named for the Chinese poet Li Bai, who lived from 701 to 762.