In science and technology, a battery is a device that stores energy and makes it available in an electrical form. Although such storage in an electrostatic form is practical in some specialized uses (in a capacitor), batteries usually consist of electrochemical devices such as one or more galvanic cells or more recently fuel cells, and may in the future use other technologies. The battery industry generates 2.8 billion dollars in sales annually. Cell vs. battery In a technical sense, the distinction may be made between an electrical battery, a device for creating or storing electrical energy composed of several similar (usually identical) cells that are connected together, versus an electrical cell, a single such unit, possibly one cell in a (strict-terminology) battery of multiple cells or possibly the entire device. That distinction, however, is considered pedantic in most contexts (other than the expression dry cell), and in current English usage it is more common to call a single cell used on its own a battery than a cell. An example is a double A (AA) battery. Even though most people call it a battery, in reality it is a cell (as are the other lettered designations although one often hears the more-correct "D cell" or "C cell"). A car battery is a true "battery" because it uses multiple cells inside of it that are connected together in series, thus forming a battery. Similarly, a 9-volt battery is a true battery as it must contain more than one cell. Multiple batteries or cells may also be refered to as a battery pack as a set of multi-cell 12 V batteries in an electric vehicle. Source : Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battery |
