Over the past several decades battery electronics have drastically changed, allowing us to experience technologies at the fullest, fastest degree. Some of the biggest battery breakthroughs in tech started with one person and a whole lot of trial-and-error.
But First, Where and When Did The First Battery Develop?
In 1799, Italian physicist Alessandro Colta created the first electrical battery, which could provide continuous electric current to a circuit. It was the voltaic pile, and used zinc and copper for electrodes. Additionally, it used a brine-soaked paper for an electrolyte. At the time, this invention disproved the theory that electricity could only be created by living beings.
Lead-Acid Batteries:
In 1859, lead-acid batteries were invented by Gaston Plante. This is still the technology we use to start most combustion engine cars today. This is the oldest example of a rechargeable battery today. It was the first battery that could be recharged by running an electrical current through it.
They are still used in cars. However, due to the relatively low charge they hold in comparison to their weight, as well as their harmful emissions, they were not seen as viable for mobile devices.
Rise of NiCd:
Nickel-cadmium was the first rechargeable battery that was used in various devices. It was a battery that used electrodes made from nickel and cadmium in an alkaline mix of potassium hydroxide.
The Nickel-cadmium was able to charge effectively, but was extremely toxic and suffered from voltage suppression, meaning that if a NiCd battery is repeatedly recharged before it is depleted, its voltage and capacity is reduced. It was replaced by nickel-metal hydride (NiMH).
Nickel-Metal Hydride:
This battery has replaced NiCd as the battery used for most electronic devices that use AA- or AAA- sized batteries.
NiCd uses various metals and nickel-hydrozide electrodes in an alkaline mixture of potassium hydroxide. They are far less damaging to the environment in comparison to NiCd.
The Invention of Lithium-Ion:
In 1991, Sony released the first commercial lithium-ion battery. What made this so revolutionary was that the batteries had high energy density, and allowed for different applications due to its diverse cathode formulations.
Nano Technology:
In the 1990s, American physicist professor John Goodenough introduced a stable lithium-ion cathode based on lithium iron and phosphate.
The Electric Car:
We went from riding horses to battery-powered vehicles. It all seems too sudden, yet in the fluid world of technology, not soon enough. The electric car symbolizes our shift toward battery technologies and the minerals that can produce them.
Electric cars run on electricity. Unlike conventional vehicles that run on gasoline or diesel-powered engine, electric cars use an electric motor powered by electricity from batteries. Not all electric vehicles use 100 per cent batteries. Plug-in hybrids offer gasoline or diesel engine, as well as an electric motor. A battery that is rechargeable by plugging in powers the motor.
Electric cars are cleaner and more efficient than conventional vehicles. They symbolize the shift toward battery-fuelled means of transportation.
A Wireless Future:
There are two types of wireless charging technologies: inductive and magnetic resonance charging. Both use the same principle of electricity flowing through a coiled wire that creates an electromagnetic field that transfers voltage to a nearby object. Sure, wireless devices are convenient, but it is less efficient than wired charging.
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