Battery Terms B atteries are devices that translate chemical energy into electricity. But that simple definition greatly understates the pervasive role of batteries in our life. Batteries are an efficient way to make electricity portable. In addition, batteries provide power to replace electricity from the utility electrical grid for a variety of critical functions. As the world becomes increasingly addicted to electricity and mobility batteries play an ever greater role in all aspects of our life.
Batteries come in a variety of shapes and sizes.
Some are small enough to fit on a computer circuit board while others are large enough to power a submarine. There are batteries that are used once and thrown away and there are batteries that are recharged and reused thousands of times. Some batteries are used several times every day while others may sit for ten or twenty years before they are ever used. Obviously for such a diversity of uses, a variety of battery types are necessary. But all of them work from the same basic principles.