Is it possible to fit a laptop in a car?

Is it possible to plug my HP laptop into a power inverter in my car without it ruining the laptop battery?

• I'm planning a road trip, and would like to have the capability of running the laptop in my vehicle without running out of (laptop) battery power. I have heard that using an inverter may cause problems. I checked HP and they do not sell a DC power connection for laptops, only for printers. Has anyone tried this? Did it work okay?

• Answer:

  The short answer is yes, yes yes! While the technical facts provided by IchtheosaurusRex are indeed accurate, the fact is is that overwhelmingly [99%] of laptops work fine with the modified sine wave. I have been using inexpensive inverters for years [$30~40 dollar variety] to power laptops. So far, no problems on six different models I have used for daily use. One of the reasons why laptops don't care is because you are actually charging the battery BEFORE the power goes to the internal circuitry. While some noise can be transferred or "inducted" it is highly unlikely to affect anything. I would avoid the $10 dollar variety that you see at some discount stores but as long as you stay in the $30-50 dollar range for a 150-400 watt model you will be fine. Happy mobile computing!