The basic of rechargeable batteries and how it works
Do you know the first rechargeable battery invented was the lead acid cell? It was invented by French physicist Gaston Plante since 1859 which later become the world’s first rechargeable battery. The same concept and chemistry are still in use for building car battery today.
The basic of rechargeable battery is simple, apply the electrical energy to the battery, then the electron will flow from negative to positive during the discharge is reversed and power is restored. Car battery is one of the oldest kinds of rechargeable battery type. In a standard car system, it is powered by a single lead-acid SLI battery that supplies power to the starter, lights and ignition system. The built-in car battery charger that come along with the car is the alternator, a mechanical gadget that uses mechanical and magnetic resonance fields to convert petrol energy to electrical energy and distributes to the different parts of car that uses electricity.
The electrical current flowing through the battery from the charger determines the rate of charges. The recharging rate improves over the years due to the advancement of the technology, basically there are 3 categories:
- Slow: 14 –16 hours
- Quick: 3 – 6 hours
- Fast: Less than one hour
Some batteries can handle higher voltage in a shorter amount of time without overheating, while others take a longer time with lesser voltage. The higher the rate of charging, the higher probability of over charging, which will drain the battery’s charges. One of the key factor to avoid over charging is to dissipate the charging current before the maximum power is reached. Most of the chargers have a built-in voltage regulator to prevent over charging which allow you to charge your hand phone or computer overnight.
The speed and effectiveness of the charge depends on the quality of the charger and the material it built. Good quality charger may come with higher price due to the circuit design and building material. Modern universal chargers are designed for specific chemical cells, some even have built in detector to identify the cell type and select the suitable charging rate and voltage. Advance charger like smart charger uses a microprocessor to set the temperature, voltage, duration of charging and indication of the power capacity.
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