Are you Aware of Chemistry
Most of the people that work with batteries aren’t really of their internal chemistry. Would that worry you? It shouldn’t really since most of the times you don’t need to know about it. There are two types of batteries, a rechargeable one and a primary one.
Primary batteries are designed to be used only once and then should be disposed of. The most common primary batteries are alkaline ones. They come in a variety of sizes that range from AA, C to D cells.
Rechargeable batteries, on the other hand, are batteries that can be recharged after each use. These batteries allow the use to use them repeatedly, more than once. A large number of camcorders and laptops make use of rechargeable batteries. These batteries like primary batteries come in a number of shapes and sizes.
As of today, there are 4 basic chemical compositions of rechargeable batteries. Here is a low down on each one of them.
• Nickel Cadmium
This is a string battery but has an old rechargeable chemistry. It effective in performance and has a quick charging speed. Yet, one of the major drawbacks of this battery is that it suffers from memory effect. This effect decreases the lifespan. Despite that, these batteries continue to be commonly used in power tools and cordless phones.
• Sealed Lead Acid
Sealed Lead Acid batteries of SLA batteries, as they are known, are the oldest of all 4 batteries. They are known for their reliability and strong performance. Despite that being heavy and bulky works against these batteries. They are limited in their usages because of their need for constant recharge. SLA batteries are not really in use as of today.
• Lithium Ion
These are the best bet for most people looking to use batteries. Simply put they are the best batteries available in the rechargeable categories as of today. The batteries are neither bulky nor big in size, helping them stay light. They are free of memory effects and hence are able to hold their charge well.
The fact that they are the best batteries in the category makes them a desirable choice for use in almost all battery-run devices. They are commonly used in consumer electronics that range from digital cameras to cell phones to laptop computers, etc.
• Nickel Metal Hydride
The Nickel Metal Hydride batteries are an upgrade on the Nickel batteries that we have talked discussed above. In comparison to that battery, though, these batteries are lighter and able to hold a 30% higher capacity than NiCd (Nickel Cadmium) batteries. Despite not being immune from the memory effect, they are strongly resistant to it. Yet, one drawback of these batteries is their lengthy charging time. These batteries are also commonly being used in a camcorder and cordless phones but with the advent of lithium batteries they are being framed out.
The chemistry of a battery is predetermined for the device it is being used in. So if you are using a battery for your phone, laptop or camera the battery being used will already to accustomed chemically to your device.
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