A battery is a hardware component that supplies power to a device, enabling that device to work without a power cord.
All batteries contain one or more cells, but people often use the terms battery and cell interchangeably. A cell is just the working chemical unit inside a battery; one battery can contain any number of cells. When a battery is connected to an electric circuit, a chemical reaction takes place in the electrolyte causing ions (in this case, atoms with a positive electrical charge) to flow through it one way, with electrons (particles with a negative charge) flowing through the outer circuit in the other direction. Definition of a Battery. Photo Credit: ose Luis Pelaez/ The Image Bank/ Getty Images. A battery, which is actually an electric cell, is a device that produces electricity from a chemical reaction. Strictly speaking, a battery consists of two or more cells connected in series or parallel, but the term is generally used for a single cell. A cell consists of a negative electrode; an electrolyte, which conducts ions; a separator, also an ion conductor; and a positive electrode. When the cell is connected to an external load, or device to be powered, the negative electrode supplies a current of electrons that flow through the load and are accepted by the positive electrode. When the external load is removed the reaction ceases. Download article as a PDF. In both criminal and civil law,  battery  is the intentional touching of, or application of force to, the body of another person in a harmful or offensive manner (and without consent).  Battery. A battery is a hardware component that supplies power to a device, enabling that device to work without a power cord. Batteries are often capable of powering a laptop computer for several hours depending on how much power it requires. You are here: Dictionary B-Definitions. A battery is a hardware component that supplies power to a device, enabling that device to work without a power cord. : a device that is placed inside a machine (such as a clock, toy, or car) to supply it with electricity. : a usually large group of similar people, things, or ideas that work together, are used together, etc. Tweet. : a device that is placed inside a machine (such as a clock, toy, or car) to supply it with electricity. : a usually large group of similar people, things, or ideas that work together, are used together, etc. : a group of two or more big guns used by the military. Elements are dropped into the cells in the battery case. The cells are connected with a metal that conducts electricity. The lead terminals, or posts, are then welded on. The battery is then filled with electrolyte-or battery acid -- a mixture of sulfuric acid and water, and the cover is attached. When a battery is connected to a load that needs electricity, such as the starter in your car, current flows from the battery. The battery begins to be discharged. In the reverse process, a battery becomes charged when current flows back into it, restoring the chemical difference between the plates. “A battery is a device that is able to store electrical energy in the form of chemical energy, and convert that energy into electricity,” says Antoine Allanore, a postdoctoral associate at MIT’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering .. If the battery is disposable, it will produce electricity until it runs out of reactants (same chemical potential on both electrodes). These batteries only work in one direction, transforming chemical energy to electrical energy. When electrons flow, this makes an electrical current that can power something. What a battery does is put the right chemicals in the right relationships, and then puts a wall between them. Only when the two sides of a battery are connected by a wire or another conductor can the electrons flow. Batteries come in several styles; you are probably most familiar with single-use alkaline batteries. A battery can change chemical energy to electricity by putting certain chemicals in contact with each other in a specific way. Electrons, which are small parts of an atoms, will travel from one kind of chemical to another under the right circumstances. Battery is a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact, distinct from assault which is the act of creating apprehension of such contact. In the United States, criminal battery, or simply battery, is the use of force against another, resulting in harmful, offensive or sexual contact. Battery was defined at common law as any unlawful touching of the person of another by the aggressor himself, or by a substance put in motion by him.. In most cases, battery is now governed by statutes, and its severity is determined by the law of the specific jurisdiction.
http://www.explainthatstuff.com/batteries.html http://inventors.about.com/od/bstartinventions/ss/How-A-Battery-Works.htm http://injury.findlaw.com/torts-and-personal-injuries/battery-basics.html http://www.computerhope.com/jargon/b/battery.htm http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/battery http://batterycouncil.org/?page=Lead_Acid_Batteries http://engineering.mit.edu/ask/how-does-battery-work http://www.qrg.northwestern.edu/projects/vss/docs/Power/1-what-are-batteries.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battery_(crime)
what is a battery