Battery

1. A method of determining a feature of a battery, the battery having an interior, the method comprising:

(a) isolating a component and/or an area in the interior of the battery using a method selected from the group consisting of gravity, concentric force, temperature, and magnetism;

(b) using micro-computed tomography to acquire data non-invasively for the interior of the battery; and

(c) determining a volume or a density within the battery from the data.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein using the micro-computed tomography comprises applying X-ray beams from an X-ray source on the battery.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the X-ray beams are filtered using a filter.

4. The method of claim 2 , comprising adjusting an energy profile of the X-ray beams before applying the X-ray beams on the battery.

5. The method of claim 1 , comprising determining the density at each of multiple positions in the interior of the battery.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the density at the multiple positions includes stack edge artifacts, which are mitigated by combining multiple scans of the battery with staggered starting positions.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the volume is occupied space.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the volume is void volume.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the battery comprises a cathode and the density is the cathode density.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the density or the volume concerns the component of the battery.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the battery comprises a cathode and the density is the cathode density measured at multiple positions in the interior of the battery.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein step (a) comprises stratifying a component and/or an area in the interior of the battery.

13. The method of claim 1 , comprising performing steps (b) and (c) on an undischarged battery, then discharging the battery, and then repeating steps (b) and (c) on the discharged battery.

14. A method of acquiring data concerning the interior of a battery, the method comprising:

(a) isolating a component and/or an area in the interior of the battery using a method selected from the group consisting of gravity, concentric force, temperature, and magnetism; and

(b) using tomography to acquire data non-invasively for the interior of the battery.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the tomography is neutron tomography.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the data is associated with hydrogen-containing molecules in the battery.

17. The method of claim 15 , wherein the data is a gas in the battery.

18. The method of claim 14 , wherein the tomography is micro-computed tomography.

19. A method of determining a feature of a battery, the battery having an interior, the method comprising:

(a) isolating a component and/or an area in the interior of the battery using a method selected from the group consisting of gravity, concentric force, temperature, and magnetism;

(b) using tomography to acquire data non-invasively for the interior of the battery to determine a first volume within the battery, the battery being un-discharged;

(c) discharging the battery; and

(d) using tomography to acquire data non-invasively for the interior of the discharged battery to determine a second volume within the discharged battery.

20. The method of claim 19 , wherein the tomography is micro-computed tomography.

21. The method of claim 19 , wherein the tomography is neutron tomography.

22. The method of claim 19 , comprising using tomography before, during and/or after the battery is discharged.

23. The method of claim 19 , comprising determining a discharge behavior of a component of the battery from the first and second volumes.

24. A method of determining a feature of a battery, the battery having an interior, the method comprising:

(a) isolating a void at an end of the battery;

(b) using micro-computed tomography to acquire data non-invasively for the interior of the battery; and

(c) determining a volume or a density within the battery from the data.