673886040@qq.com
Team up with Battery University to learn about batteries and conquer its shortcomings
The word “battery” comes from the Old French
word battery, meaning “action of beating" relating to a group of cannons
in battle. In the endeavor to find an energy storage device, scientists in the
1700s adopted the term battery to represent multiple electronic chemical cells.
The battery consists of two electrodes that are isolated by a separator and soaked in electrolyteto promote the movement of ions. New active materials are
being tried, each offering unique attributes but none delivering an ultimate
solution.
Improvements have been slow. Whereas Moore’s Law* doubled the number of
transistors in an integrated circuit every two years, capacity gain of Li-ion
had been about eight percent per year in the last two decades. Theoretical
specific energies studied by modeling reveal storage capabilities that are ten
times higher than what today’s batteries deliver, but these lofty speculations
may never see the light.
The battery is a feeble vessel that is slow to fill, holds limited energy, runs
for a time like a wind-up toy, fades and eventually becomes a nuisance. It
exhibits human qualities in that it needs recuperation from the daily travails
by requiring a long and restful charge. It then delivers for a time and quits
on its own term. Some batteries need as much charging time as they deliver, and
there is a resemblance with growing teenagers. (I raised five.)
The lithium-ion family receives the most attention and it is gradually
replacing the nickel-basedpredecessors that dominated the battery world until the
1990s. Lead acid with its many warts and blemishes holds a solid
position for starter and standby batteries. No other system can meet the price
and robustness for now.
However, when calculating price-per-cycle, Li-ion begins to win over lead acid
in the renewable energy sector. Basing calculations on cost per kWh as a bulk
purchase no longer holds; operational costs must be considered. A battery
expert said that the switch from lead acid to Li-ion will be faster than the
advancement of the Internet.
We seek to learn as much about batteries as possible, but this website only
addresses the most commonly used battery systems. My background is in
electrical and I tackle batteries from the electrical side rather than as part
of a chemical reaction. I avoid formulas and back my material with practical
and hand-on field data.
* In 1965, Gordon Moore said that the number of transistors in an
integrated circuit would double every two years. The prediction became true and
is being carried into the 21st century. Applied to a battery, Moore’s Law would
shrink a starter battery in a car to the size of a coin.
