CELL & BATTERIES

 The cell and battery both store the chemical

energy and then transforms the stored
chemical energy into an electrical energy. One
INTRODUCTION of the major difference between the cell and
the battery is that the cell is the single unit,
whereas the battery is the group of cells
  The cell is a single power generating unit which stores
the chemical energy and then converts it into electrical
DEFINITION OF energy. It has two electrodes namely cathode and the
CELL anode. The cell has an electrolyte, a chemical
substance that reacts with the electrodes and produces
electric current.
  The battery is a device which consists two or more
units of an electrochemical cell. The positive terminal
DEFINITION of the battery is known as the cathode whereas the
OF BATTERY negative terminal of the battery is known as the anode.
The battery is of two types, i.e., the primary battery
and the secondary battery.
  The cell is a single unit device which converts the electric energy
into chemical energy, whereas the battery is the group of the cell.
 The cell is either dry, wet, reserve and fuel types depends on the
types of electrolytes used, and the battery is either non-
chargeable or rechargeable.
 The cell has a single unit, and hence it is light and compact
DIFFERENCES whereas the battery is a combination of cells which increase the
size of the battery and make it’s bulky.
BETWEEN CELL
 The cell supply power for a short time, whereas the battery supply
& BATTERY power for the long duration.
 The cell is cheap as compared to the battery.
 The cell is mostly used in the clocks, lamp, etc. which requires less
energy, whereas the battery is mostly used in the automobiles,
inverter, etc.
  Batteries are classified into primary and secondary
forms:
 Primary batteries are designed to be used until
CATEGORIES exhausted of energy then discarded. Their chemical
reactions are generally not reversible, so they cannot
AND TYPES be recharged. When the supply of reactants in the
OF battery is exhausted, the battery stops producing
current and is useless.
BATTERIES
 Secondary batteries can be recharged; that is, they
can have their chemical reactions reversed by applying
electric current to the cell. This regenerates the original
chemical reactants, so they can be used, recharged,
and used again multiple times.
  Many types of electrochemical cells have been
produced, with varying chemical processes and
CELL TYPES designs, including galvanic cells, electrolytic cells, fuel
cells, flow cells and voltaic piles.
  A wet cell battery has a liquid electrolyte. Other names
are flooded cell, since the liquid covers all internal
parts, or vented cell, since gases produced during
operation can escape to the air. Wet cells were a
WET CELL precursor to dry cells. Wet cells may be primary cells
(non-rechargeable) or secondary cells (rechargeable).
Examples of primary wet cells are the Leclanche cell,
Grove cell, Bunsen cell, Chromic acid cell, Clark cell,
and Weston cell.
  A dry cell uses a paste electrolyte, with only enough
moisture to allow current to flow. A common dry cell is
the zinc–carbon battery, sometimes called the dry
Leclanché cell, with a nominal voltage of 1.5 volts, the
same as the alkaline battery (since both use the same
zinc–manganese dioxide combination). A standard dry
DRY CELL cell comprises a zinc anode, usually in the form of a
cylindrical pot, with a carbon cathode in the form of a
central rod. The electrolyte is ammonium chloride in
the form of a paste next to the zinc anode. The
remaining space between the electrolyte and carbon
cathode is taken up by a second paste consisting of
ammonium chloride and manganese dioxide, the
latter acting as a depolarizer. In some designs, the
ammonium chloride is replaced by zinc chloride.
  A battery's characteristics may vary over load cycle,
CELL over charge cycle, and over lifetime due to many
PERFORMAN factors including internal chemistry, current drain, and
temperature. At low temperatures, a battery cannot
CE IN deliver as much power. As such, in cold climates, some
BATTERY car owners install battery warmers, which are small
electric heating pads that keep the car battery warm.
  Battery life (and its synonym battery lifetime) has two
meanings for rechargeable batteries but only one for
non-chargeables. For rechargeables, it can mean either
the length of time a device can run on a fully charged
battery or the number of charge/discharge cycles
possible before the cells fail to operate satisfactorily.
LIFETIME For a non-rechargeable these two lives are equal since
the cells last for only one cycle by definition. (The term
shelf life is used to describe how long a battery will
retain its performance between manufacture and use.)
Available capacity of all batteries drops with
decreasing temperature.
  CHARACTERISTICS
 Primary cell with a nominal open circuit voltage of 1.5
Volts produced in very high volumes.

LECLANCHE  Chemistry based on a zinc anode and a

cathode/depolarizer of manganese dioxide which
CELL absorbs the liberated hydrogen bubbles which would
otherwise insulate the electrode from the electrolyte. It
uses a carbon rod as the cathode current collector with
an electrolyte of ammonium chloride. Its variants have
been in use for over a century.
 Also referred to as Zinc- Carbon Cells or Dry Cells
despite having an aqueous electrolyte since in modern
cells the electrolyte of ammonium chloride and zinc
chloride is produced in gel form or held in porous
separators to reduce potential leakage if the cell
becomes punctured.
 Variants include:
 Zinc carbon (Carbon cathode)
 Zinc chloride (Ammonium chloride electrolyte replaced
by zinc chloride)
 Alkaline manganese ( Ammonium chloride electrode
replaced by potassium hydroxide)
  Inexpensive materials
 Low cost
ADVANTAGES
 Suitable for a wide range of consumer applications
 Interchangeable with alkaline batteries
  Propensity to leak
 The basic zinc carbon battery has a lower energy
density than the competing alkaline batteries
 Poor low temperature performance. Do not function
well in sub-zero temperatures.
SHORTCOMINGS
 The use of naturally occurring manganese dioxide from
different sources can lead to wide performance
variations due to the presence of small quantities of
impurities such as nickel, copper, arsenic, and cobalt.
 Not rechargeable.
  General purpose, low cost applications
 Toys
 Remote controls
 Flashlights
APPLICATIONS  Clocks

 COSTS:
 Lowest cost primary batteries