Batteries

All you need to know about batteries.

Summary

There are various types of battery based on different chemistries. To get the best out of them and to avoid problems you need a basic understanding of their advantages and disadvantages, as well as a little about purchasing, maintaining and disposing of them.

Safety

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Old batteries often leak, causing corrosions of the battery contacts, so preventing new batteries from working.
Lithium batteries can catch fire and burn violently if over-charged, shorted, punctured, or physically damaged in any way.

How batteries work

(You can skip this section if you like, though a little more knowledge than you actually need is always helpful.)

Non-rechargeable (primary) batteries

Zinc chloride

Alkaline

Silver and Mercury

Lithium

Rechargeable (secondary) batteries

Lead Acid

Nickel Cadmium

Nickel Metal Hydride

Lithium

External links

  • Battery University