diff --git a/content/Blog/demystifying_battery_technology.md b/content/Blog/demystifying_battery_technology.md index b66d282..389ecf0 100644 --- a/content/Blog/demystifying_battery_technology.md +++ b/content/Blog/demystifying_battery_technology.md @@ -4,16 +4,33 @@ Authors: Matt Gibson ![MyImage]({Illustration of Daniell cell}../images/daniell_cell.png) +This is a quick primer to key aspects of batteries for someone like me who knows a little about software but not very much about electrical engineering, power systems or embedding programming. -# Introduction: +## Introduction: -* Brief overview of the importance of batteries in modern life. +Batteries are key technological component in many electronic and electro-mechanical systems. But, I find myself thinking of them as substrate or a fuel tank, rather than a technology. Partly this is because of ignorance and partly by design. +As a person making software * applications of batteries: smartphones to electric vehicles -# Understanding Battery Basics: -* definitions +## Understanding Battery Basics + +The term battery derives from a military battery. They are old, they were on of the predominant forms of electricity generation in say the 1840s although we don't generally think of them as generators today. + +Batteries derive from physical chemistry, and they were a driving engine in the development of not just electrochemistry but the general theory of electro-magnetism. Michael Faraday coined the terms: - anode - cathode + - electrode + - ion + +### Introduction to galvanic cells. + +Batteries are types of **electro-chemical cells**, that is chemical devices which do work either converting chemical energy into electrical or visa versa. Cells can be classified by the conversion type: **galvanic cells** convert chemical energy into electricity while **electrolytic cells** require electricity to perform a chemical reaction. + +Both cell types are used in batteries: **primary batteries** like commercial alkaline AA driven by a reaction between zinc metal and manganese dioxide, are, as we know, not rechargeable. That's what makes a primary battery such, and they consist only of galvanic cells. **Secondary batteries** like the lithium-ion battery power my laptop are rechargeable, and the recharge process is the conversion of electrical energy from my ac adapter into chemical energy. + + +These are respective: +- - electrolyte - ions - separator @@ -38,7 +55,7 @@ Authors: Matt Gibson - power density -* Introduction to galvanic cells. + * Types of batteries: an overview. * Energy conversion in batteries. * Components of batteries. @@ -55,10 +72,11 @@ Authors: Matt Gibson * Managing self-discharge. * Considering calendar and cycle life. * Understanding internal resistance and safety measures. -* Tips for battery selection. # Deep Dive into Battery Types: +Although we briefly discuss other battery chemistries for context, lithium ion batteries are, rightly, the star of the show. The 2019 nobel prize in chemistry was awarded for the development of li-ion batteries. + * Lead-Acid Batteries: * Nickel-Cadmium Batteries: * Nickel-Metal Hydride Batteries: @@ -79,5 +97,8 @@ Authors: Matt Gibson - cell-balancing - battery fuel gauging +# Batteries and Computing + # References -* https://batteryuniversity.com/ \ No newline at end of file +* https://batteryuniversity.com/ +* https://chem.libretexts.org/Courses/University_of_Arkansas_Little_Rock/Chem_1403%3A_General_Chemistry_2/Text/19%3A_Electron_Transfer_Reactions/19.03%3A_Electrochemical_Cells diff --git a/content/pages/About.md b/content/pages/About.md index 1141355..bb3b421 100644 --- a/content/pages/About.md +++ b/content/pages/About.md @@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ Save_as: about.html ![A bad photo of me in my darkest days]({attach}../images/me_bad.png) - + I am a software and machine learning developer in [Sydney](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney), NSW, Australia. I like [computing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MOS_Technology_6502), [data](https://search.r-project.org/CRAN/refmans/vcd/html/HorseKicks.html), [machine learning](https://pytorch.org/) and [cooking](https://web.archive.org/web/20160210065535/http://www.seriouseats.com/the-food-lab/?ref=nav_main). I'm delighted by the scientific enterprise which allows us ["to see a World in a Grain of Sand"](https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43650/auguries-of-innocence). diff --git a/content/pages/Index.md b/content/pages/Index.md index d502430..4b79c3b 100644 --- a/content/pages/Index.md +++ b/content/pages/Index.md @@ -11,10 +11,10 @@ Template: homepage ![Detail from Anni Albers]({attach}../images/anni_albers_detail.png) -