Interesting Rupert,
So, is there a way of getting back a Li-Ion battery - Sony to be specific - after it has apparently given up the ghost completely?
It used to be possible to "zap" an apparently dead Ni-Cad cell with a large current surge that vapourised the crystals that were acting as a short circuit within the cell. It wasn't always successful or, if it was, not for very long.
Is there an equivalent procedure for Li-Ion cells?