By Mickey Caroll, science and tech reporter

You’re not the only one at risk of overheating – this heatwave could do some real damage to your electronics.

Machines, including phones, earbuds and laptops, can become less efficient and degrade more quickly in extreme heat. 

That’s only made worse by the fact that they generate their own heat while in use.

The science behind heat and electronics

To get why heat has such an effect, you can think about temperature at a molecular level. 

As molecules heat up, they vibrate more, causing the space between them to grow and the material as a whole to expand.

That can lead to deformities and cracks if the material isn’t flexible enough to cope with the change.

Our devices are also jam-packed with materials that react differently to heat, meaning they won’t expand and contract at the same pace – leading to even more potential problems.

There’s also the issue of batteries – a lot of our devices will be running on lithium-ion batteries. 

Hotter temperatures increase the number of reactions inside a battery, which can deplete the lithium and reduce the amount of energy storage. 

So you might notice your battery drains more quickly in the hot temperatures.

In fact, electric cars can lose up to 20% of their range when temperatures stay above 32C, because of the issue with batteries, according to research published in the scientific Journal of Power Sources.

What NOT to do if your tech overheats

Lots of our smart tech, like phones, will now stop working on purpose once it reaches high temperatures, often around 35 degrees Celsius, in order to protect the internal processes.

It can be annoying when this happens… we’re used to being able to access everything on our phones instantly, but patience is a virtue here.

If your phone tells you it needs to cool down in order for you to use it, do not put it in the freezer or on ice.

The sudden temperature change could create condensation inside the device, leading to internal damage.

Unfortunately, you’ll just have to put it somewhere shady and let it cool down gradually.

Here are three tips to stop your tech from overheating in the first place:

Keep your devices out of direct sunlight and avoid stacking them on top of each otherConsider removing your phone or laptop case if it is bulky; it may be keeping the heat in. Just make sure you don’t drop it once the case is off…Switch your device to power-saving mode so it isn’t generating unnecessary heat by running processes you don’t need