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Glossary

AC
AC Adapter
Alkaline
Amps
Anode
Battery
Battery Cell
Battery Cycle
Bay/Drive Bay
Cadmium
Carbon
Cathode
CD ROM Drive
Charge
Charger
Compatible
DC
Discahrge
Dry Cell
Electrochemical Reaction
Electrode
Electrons
Electrolyte
External Charger
Fascia
Fuel Gauge
Gel Cell
Hard Drive
Hydrogen
Ions
Laptop
Lead
Lead Acid Battery
Lithium
Li-Ion
Li-Ion Polymer
Lithium Oxide
Manganese Dioxide
Memory
Memory Effect
Milliamp-hours
Nickel
NiCd
NiMH
OEM
Organic Liquids
Overcharging
Oxygen
Oxidise
Potassium Hydroxide
Power
Power Management
Power to Weight Ratio
Primary
Processor
Processor Heat Sink
RAM
Rechargeable
Run Time
Secondary
Self-Discharge
Short-Circuit
Silver
Smart Battery
Sodium
Sulphur
Sulphuric Acid
Suspend
Universal
Voltage
Volts
Zinc
Zinc Sulphate

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AC
AC is the acronym for Alternating Current. Used to supply electricity commercially as electric power. Alternating Current is the most efficient method of energy transmission.
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AC Adapter
Device used to convert AC (Alternating Current) to DC (Direct Current).
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Alkaline
A chemical compound that has a pH greater than 7. They have a low hydrogen concentration. Also known as a base. Baking soda and sodium carbonate are common alkaline compounds. In batteries Potassium Hydroxide is a commonly used alkaline.
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Amps
Amps short for Amperes (A) is the unit of measurement of current.
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Anode
The positive electrode in a battery or electrochemical reaction.
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Battery
A vessel made up of a number of battery cells which produce and store an electric charge. It can also be used to refer to an individual battery cell.
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Battery Cell
A vessel containing various chemicals which produce electricity as a result of the reactions taking place between these chemicals.
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Battery Cycle
A complete discharge followed by a complete charge of a battery.
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Bay / Drive Bay
Specially designed housing for batteries and other peripherals on a laptop computer.
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Cadmium
A "transition metal", with the periodic symbol Cd. This metal is relatively rare and is toxic. It is widely used in batteries, although its use is slowly being phased out.
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Carbon
A naturally occurring element, with the symbol C. Vital for our existence due to its unique chemical characteristics. Diamond and Graphite are a form of Carbon.
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Cathode
The negative electrode in a battery or electrochemical reaction.
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CD ROM Drive
Optical storage device. Hardware that allows the user to play and view data held on a CD(compact Disc).
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Charge
Electric charge held by a battery at a given time is its capacity. Also the term "to charge a battery", refers to energising a battery by passing current through it in the opposite direction to discharge.
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Charger
Device used to energise a rechargeable battery.
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Compatible
An alternative to the original supplied. Compatible batteries have similar capacity and ratings to the original but are cheaper in price.
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DC
DC is the acronym for Direct Current. This is used for low voltage applications.
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Discharge
The process by which electric potential or charge leaves the battery.
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Dry Cell
A type of battery. The common AA batteries are of this type. Uses Zinc and Carbon as electrodes and an acidic paste as an electrolyte. The name is derived from its dry nature.
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Electrochemical Reaction
A reaction between chemicals which produces electrons.
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Electrode
A conductor which allows an electric current to flow through it. The anode is the positive electrode and the cathode is the negative electrode.
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Electrons
An electron is a sub-atomic particle with a negative charge. They generate an electric current when they move.
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Electrolyte
A chemical compound that becomes an electrically conductive medium by electrically charging the different atoms.
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External Charger
A device used to energise batteries outside of the batteries application, i.e. not in the laptop of camera.
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Fascia
A plastic/metallic piece which makes part of the outer casing of the laptop computer when put together.
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Fuel Gauge
A set of LED lights on the battery showing the relative capacity of the battery. The capacity is also shown as numerical value (a percentage) by Power Management software on the laptop computer.
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Gel Cell
A modern version of a Lead Acid battery, where the acid is substituted by a gel based electrolyte.
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Hard Drive
Device used to store data
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Hydrogen
The lightest element and is found as a gas. It is the most abundant element in the universe.
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Ions
An atom or a group of atoms with an electric charge.
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Laptop
A portable personal computer.
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Lead
A toxic metal with the symbol Pb, which stands for Plumbum (latin), with a very high density.
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Lead Acid Battery
A type of battery that is commonly used in motor vehicles. It uses Lead plates as electrodes and a very strong acid as an electrolyte.
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Lithium
An alkali metal, with the symbol Li. A very light-weight metal. It is usually mixed with Aluminium and Magnesium for light-weight alloys.
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Li-Ion
A type of battery chemistry where a Carbon compound and Lithium oxide are used as electrodes with an electrolyte.
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Li-Ion Polymer
Works on the same principle as Li-Ion, but the electrolyte used is a polymer resembling a thin plastic film.
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Lithium Oxide
Compound formed by burning, oxidising Lithium. It is used as an electrode in a Lithium Ion cell.
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Manganese Dioxide
Compound formed by oxidising Manganese, a metal. Used as an electrode in an Alkaline battery.
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Memory
Refers to RAM, Random Access Memory or volatile memory. An integral component of the laptop computer.
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Memory Effect
An effect caused by continually recharging a battery before it is fully discharged. As a result it only remembers the amount of capacity charged and the full capacity of the battery is not reached.
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Milliamp-hours
Milliamp-hours (mAh) is the capacity of a battery. 1amp = 1000milliamps.
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Nickel
A metal with the symbol Ni. Widely used to construct various metal alloys. The use of Nickel in batteries is being reduced now.
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NiCd
Nickel Cadmium cell. A type of battery chemistry where Nickel and Cadmium are used as the electrodes and Potassium Hydroxide as the electrolyte.
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NiMH
Nickel Metal Hydride. Another type of battery chemistry where Nickel, Nickel alloys are used as electrodes and Potassium Hydroxide as the electrolyte.
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OEM
OEM stands for Original Equipment Manufacturer. A third party manufacturer producing goods under licence from companies like Sony, Toshiba etc.
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Organic Liquids
A chemical compound containing Carbon, but in a liquid state. This is not a strict definition as some chemical compounds containing Carbon are excluded like Carbon Monoxide and Carbon Dioxide.
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Overcharging
Energising a battery above the prescribed time or even after it has reached full capacity.
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Oxygen
A non-metallic element with the symbol, O. It is found in our atmosphere as a diatomic gas, o2. It constitutes about 21% of our atmosphere. Essential for respiration by animals and plants and combustion.
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Oxidise
To combining with Oxygen. Electrons are removed from an atom or a molecule (the atom becomes positively charged).
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Potassium Hydroxide
A very stong alkaline. Used as an electrolyte in batteries.
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Power
Power is measured in Watts (W). It is the product of potential difference or voltage (V) and Current (A).
Power (W) = Voltage (V) x Current (A)
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Power Management
Software, usually supplied with laptop computers. It helps manage power consumption by controlling various processes taking place within the laptop computer.
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Power to Weight Ratio
The Power to Weight ratio is the Power produced, divided by the battery's weight. A light weight battery providing the same amount of power as a much heavier version would have a higher power to weight to ratio.
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Primary
Primary batteries are non-rechargeable.
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Processor
The Processor is also known as CPU or Central Processing Unit. This does all or most of the data processing. The two most popular brands are AMD and Intel
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Processor Heat Sink
The heat sink sits on top of the processor and conducts heat away from the processor. Heat sinks are made of metals with very good heat conducting properties, e.g. Copper and Aluminium. There is usually a fan on top of the heat sink which circulates the air, increasing the heat dissipation. The processor gets really hot whilst the computer is working. If no form of cooling is provided the processor overheats and it can literally get cooked. Cooler Master is one of the leading manufacturers of processor coolers and heat sinks.
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RAM
Random Access Memory. A device used to store data temporarily. Increasing the RAM on a laptop computer results in an increased performance
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Rechargeable
The ability to reverse the electrolytic reaction within a battery. The electrodes return to their previous state prior to discharge and are ready to discharge again.
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Run Time
The time taken for a battery to power a laptop computer from a fully charged state to a discharged state.
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Secondary
Secondary cells are rechargeable.
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Self-Discharge
All Batteries self-discharge whilst they are not in use (open circuit). The anodes and electrolyte still react but at a reduced rate, resulting in reduced electric potential (charge).
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Short-Circuit
A Short-circuit occurs when a metallic wire or a metallic object is placed between the contacts of a battery. This causes electricity to flow without any resistance. Due to the reduced resistance a large amount of electricity flows producing a lot of heat. This can lead to a fire hazard.
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Silver
A valuable metal with the symbol Ag. The symbol Ag is derived from its latin name Argentum.
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Smart Battery
Battery with in-built micro-processor allowing communication between the battery and laptop computer. The laptop computer can monitor battery performance, output voltage and temperature.
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Sodium
An alkali metal. The chemical symbol Na is derived from the latin word Natrium. Sodium can be commonly found in compound form as Sodium Chloride or table salt.
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Sulphur
A non metallic element with the symbol S. A widely used chemical, commonly found in matches, medicines and gunpowder.
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Sulphuric Acid
A very strong mineral acid. Also known as battery acid due to its use in Lead Acid batteries.
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Suspend
A function in laptop computers where most processes including background processes are halted temporarily to conserve power.
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Universal
Refers to the capability of fitting with or working with a wide variety of laptop computer models.
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Voltage
Measured in volts is the potential difference between two points in an electric circuit.
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Volts
The unit of measurement of Voltage with the symbol V.
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Zinc
A very widely used metal with the symbol Zn. It is used to galvanize other metals, in alloys and as pigments in paints.
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Zinc Sulphate
A water soluble chemical compound used as an electrolyte in batteries and also for Zinc plating.
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Use the ChemFinder for more technical information on the various chemical compounds listed above. Check the Interactive Periodic Table for more information on the different elements listed above.