CELLS AND BATTERIES

Chapter outline
Understanding the relationship between cells and

batteries. Understanding the cells that connected in series, parallel and series-parallel.

What is cell?
the term cell is used when a single electrical

cells connected only itself to provide a source of a potential difference in a circuit

What is battery?
the term battery is used when several electrical

cells are connected together to provide a source of a potential difference in a circuit.

battery is any device that converts chemical

energy into electrical energy

Relationship between cells and batteries

The primary difference between a battery and a cell is

that a battery can be composed of a number of cells.

A cell can be a battery. Big flashlights sometimes use

"D" cells or "D" batteries as a power source. But a car has a 12 volt battery (that sits at over 13 volts when it's fully charged) and it is composed of 6 individual cells.
Generally, a cell delivers a certain voltage that is a

function of what chemical reactions are taking place to generate the voltage. To get increased voltage one must add cells in series. The 9-volt batteries like the ones used in smoke detectors have 6 individual cells inside them.

How the battery operated?

A battery is essentially a can full of chemicals that

produce electrons. Chemical reactions that produce electrons are called electrochemical reactions. If you look at any battery, you'll notice that it has two terminals. One terminal is marked (+), or positive, while the other is marked (-), or negative. In an AA, C or D cell (normal flashlight batteries), the ends of the battery are the terminals. In a large car battery, there are two heavy lead posts that act as the terminals.

 Electrons collect on the negative terminal of the

battery. If you connect a wire between the negative and positive terminals, the electrons will flow from the negative to the positive terminal as fast as they can (and wear out the battery very quickly -- this also tends to be dangerous, especially with large batteries, so it is not something you want to be doing). Normally, you connect some type of load to the battery using the wire. The load might be something like a light bulb, a motor or an electronic circuit like a radio.

 Inside the battery itself, a chemical reaction produces the

electrons. The speed of electron production by this chemical reaction (the battery's internal resistance) controls how many electrons can flow between the terminals.
Electrons flow from the battery into a wire, and must travel

from the negative to the positive terminal for the chemical reaction to take place.

 That is why a battery can sit on a shelf for a year

and still have plenty of power -- unless electrons are flowing from the negative to the positive terminal, the chemical reaction does not take place. Once you connect a wire, the reaction starts. The ability to harness this sort of reaction started with the voltaic pile.

Primary cells
Primary cells cannot be recharged, that is, the

conversion of chemical energy to electrical energy is irreversible and the cell cannot be used once the chemicals are exhausted. Examples of primary cells include the Leclanche cell and the mercury cell.

Secondary cells
Secondary cells can be recharged after use, t

ht is, the conversion of chemical energy to electrical energy is reversible and the cell may be used many times. Examples of secondary cells include the lead-acid cell and the alkaline cell. Practical applications of such cells include car batteries, telephone circuits and for traction purposes. i.e Lead-acid cell, alkaline cell.

Difference between primary and secondary cells

Primary Discharge once only Internal structure is more simple bigger quality ratio and volume ratio Bigger impedance Lower self-discharge Secondary Rechargeable Internal structure is more complex Lower quality ratio and volume ratio Lower impedance Higher self-discharge

Types of Cells and batteries

Wet cell

Dry cell
Carbon-Zinc cell Alkaline cell

the effects of different cells connections

The battery can be connected in series, parallel

or series-parallel.

internal resistance
The voltage available at the terminals of a cell

falls when a load is connected. This is caused by the internal resistance of the cell which is the opposition of the material of the cell to the flow of current. The internal resistance acts in series with other resistances in the circuit. Figure 1 shows a cell of e.m.f. E volts and internal resistance, r, and XY represents the terminals of the cell.

Fig. 1

Battery in Series
A series circuit is a circuit where there is only

one path from the source through all of the loads and back to the source. This means that all of the current in the circuit must flow through all of the loads.
Total e.m.f. = sum of cells e.m.f.s Total internal resistance = sum of cells internal

resistances

V1

V2

V3

VT = V1+V2+V3

Battery in Parallel
A parallel circuit is a circuit in which there are at least two

independent paths in the circuit to get back to the source. In a parallel circuit, the current will flow through the closed paths and not through the open paths.
If each cell has the same e.m.f. and internal resistance:

Total e.m.f. = e.m.f. of one cell Total internal resistance of n cells = 1 x internal resistance of one cell n

V1

V2

V3

VT=V1=V2=V3

Battery in Series-Parallel
Figure 2 illustrates a parallel/serial connection.

This allows good design flexibility and attains the wanted voltage and current ratings by using a standard cell size. It should be noted that the total power does not change with different configurations. The power is the product of voltage times current.
V1 V2

V3

V4