Laptop Travel – www.laptoptravel.com
10200 -
73rd Avenue North, Suite 120
Maple Grove, MN 55369
Telephone: 763-425-7084
Toll
Free: 1-888-527-8728
Laptop Battery Glossary
Many different terms are used to describe laptop batteries.
Because these terms are often unintentionally misused, we have provided a
glossary of laptop
battery terms below. Laptop Travel
carries a complete line of laptop batteries for
Apple, Compaq, Dell, Gateway, HP, IBM, Sony, Toshiba and many other laptop brands. Click here to select
your laptop model from the drop down menu for a list of available batteries for your
laptop.
Alkaline
A primary battery
(non-rechargeable) often used in electronics applications requiring heavy
currents for long periods of time (i.e.: cd players, radios, etc.). Alkaline batteries can deliver
50-100% more total energy than conventional Carbon/Zinc batteries of the same
size, hence their popularity in consumer applications.
Ampere-Hour Capacity
The quantity of electricity measured in ampere-hours (Ah) that may be
delivered by a cell or battery
under specified conditions.
Laptop Battery
or Pack
Two or more electrochemical cells electrically interconnected in an
appropriate series/parallel arrangement to provide the required operating
voltage and current levels. Under common usage, the term "battery" is
often also applied to a single cell.
Capacity
The total number of ampere-hours or watt-hours that can be withdrawn
from a fully charged cell or battery under specified
conditions of discharge.
Capacity Retention (or Charge Retention)
The fraction of the fall capacity available from a battery under specified
conditions of discharge after it has been stored for a period of time.
Cell
The basic electrochemical unit used to generate or store electrical
energy.
Current Drain
The current withdrawn from a battery during
discharge.
Discharge
The conversion of the chemical energy of a battery into electrical
energy, and the withdrawal of the electrical energy into a load.
Discharge Rate
The rate, usually expressed in amperes, at which electrical current is
taken from the battery.
Drain
The current withdrawn from a battery during
discharge.
Dumb Battery
Straight battery
pack without internal circuits enabling communication between the battery and the user.
Energy
The output capability of a cell or battery, usually
expressed in watt-hours.
Fast Charge
Typical fast charge time for a NiCd is 1 to 3 hours. The fast-charger
detects the state of charge and switches to trickle charge when full-charge is
reached.
Lithium Ion (Li Ion or LiON)
One of the newer rechargeable battery technologies,
Li Ion batteries can
deliver 40% more capacity than comparably sized NiCd batteries and are one
of the lightest rechargeable batteries available
today. Li Ion batteries
are the batteries of
choice in laptop computers, wireless
telephones, and many camcorder models. They are also one of the more expensive
rechargeable technologies.
Memory Effect
A phenomenon in which a cell or battery operated in
successive cycles to the same, but less than full, depth of discharge
temporarily loses the rest of its capacity at normal voltage levels.
Milliamps
Refers to battery
capacity. A 1/1000th of an amp, e.g.: 1.0Ah = 1000mAh.
Nickel Cadmium (NiCd)
One of the most proven and historically most widely used rechargeable batteries. Very
dependable and "robust" but contain cadmium and have relatively low
capacity when compared to other rechargeable systems. Very good high rate
discharge capabilities make them very popular in high drain applications such
as power tools.
Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMh)
Interchangeable with most NiCd batteries, nickel metal
hydride (NiMh) batteries generally deliver 10-25% greater capacity than NiCds
and are environmentally more friendly than NiCds since they do not contain
cadmium. Used in many wireless phone and camcorders.
Nominal Voltage
The characteristic operating voltage or rated voltage of a battery.
Rapid Charge
A charge time that is between slow charge and fast charge (typically 3 to
6 hours for a NiCd).
Rated Capacity
The number of ampere-hours a battery can deliver
under specific conditions (e.g., rate of discharge, end voltage, temperature);
usually specified by the battery
manufacturer.
Rechargeable
Battery
A galvanic battery,
which after discharge, may be restored to the fully charged state by the
passage of an electrical current through the cell in the opposite direction to
that of discharge.
Recondition
One or more deep discharge cycles below 1.0 volt/cell at a very low,
controlled current. Recondition helps to revert large crystals to small
desirable sized, often restoring the battery to its full
capacity.
Service Life
The period of useful life of a battery before a
predetermined end-point voltage is reached.
Shelf Life
The duration of storage under specified conditions at the end of which
the battery still
retains the ability to give a specified performance.
Slow Charge
Typically an over-night charge lasting about 14 hours at a charge
current of 0.1C. Battery
does not require instant removal when fully charged.
Smart Battery
Battery with
internal circuit enabling some communication between the battery and the user.
Some batteries
solely feature a capacity indicator, while others offer an external bus to
interface with the equipment the battery power and the
intelligent charger.
Trickle Charge
A charge at a low rate, balancing losses through local action and/or
periodic discharge, to maintain a cell or battery in a fully
charged condition.
Voltage
A unit of measuring electrical pressure. All batteries are rated in
volts DC (Direct Current).
Watts
A measurement of energy arrived at by multiplying the voltage by the
amperage.
Watt Hours
A common measurement of energy produced in a given amount of time,
arrived at by multiplying the voltage by the amp hours.