The battery

[FrankSG]

I sometimes leave the battery of my laptop plugged in overnight then unplug it in the morning. If the battery gets fully charged in a short time, is it possible that I could do damage to the battery by leaving it plugged in too long?

[PrntRhd]

With modern battery technology the answer is probably no.
Lithium cells do degrade over time but do not have the type of charge issues of NiCad batteries of years past.
Heat control issues? yes
Overcharge issues? yes
The charge control circuits in the laptop should address all these issues.

[Cuc Tu]

I've left mine plugged in for weeks. At work, it is plugged in all the time to the docking station. I only take that one home occassionally and the battery seems to work fine, a few hours anyway.

I thought Li-ion batteries had a finite number of charge cycles, around 1,000, and then their capacity was diminished to something like 60%. The same result after a year of use. A charge cycle was from something like 90% or lower - so if you kept it topped off, it would last longer. A full discharge is not good for them.

I like this site as the supreme source for battery info:

http://batteryuniversity.com/