Battery University

BU-1501 Battery History

Welcome to the Leaning Tools section of BatteryUniversity.com. Here you find practical experience and gossip from many conferences and academic institutions summarized in entertaining and easy-to-read presentations. Guys don’t want to read too much, so enjoy the engaging graphics as a teaching tool.

Battery History

Batteries have been around for over 200 years but it was only with the invention of the telephone and telegraph that they found practical applications. Flashlights and radios soon followed. Most batteries were non-rechargeable and needed refilling of electrolyte or replacement when depleted. The first rechargeable battery was the lead acid invented by Gaston Planté in 1859.

9 slides PowerPoint

  1. Cover
  2. When was the Battery Invented
  3. Early Batteries
  4. Experimentations at the Institute of France
  5. Mass production in 1802
  6. Battery Developments: 1600 to 1900
  7. Battery Developments: 1900 to Present
  8. Overview of Battery Types
  9. Take home

Download :

1.8mb

Last Updated: 3-Mar-2016
Batteries In A Portable World
Batteries In A Portable World

The material on Battery University is based on the indispensable new 4th edition of "Batteries in a Portable World - A Handbook on Rechargeable Batteries for Non-Engineers" which is available for order through Amazon.com.

More Details

Buy On Amazon

Comments

Comments are intended for "commenting," an open discussion amongst site visitors. Battery University monitors the comments and understands the importance of expressing perspectives and opinions in a shared forum. However, all communication must be done with the use of appropriate language and the avoidance of spam and discrimination.

If you have a suggestion or would like to report an error, please use the "contact us" form or email us at: BatteryU@cadex.com. We like to hear from you but we cannot answer all inquiries. We recommend posting your question in the comment sections for the Battery University Group (BUG) to share.

I understand. Hide this message.
Looking for comments from the previous website?

Comments from the previous website are not compatible with our new commenting system but we have preserved them so our users can still reference and make use the information in them.

Show Old Comments
On May 4, 2017, Ed Brost wrote:
Hello, I am looking for information, charts, graphs or tables, that show power density and $/Joule (kW-hr) over time, say the last 20 years. I am in the process of writing an article in need a credible source showing the trend in power density and cost along with projections. I suspect your site has that information but I was unable to find that specific information. Incidentally, this is an excellent site. I have bookmarked it as I think I will use it often. .....Ed

Find An Article

Table of Contents

Basics You Should Know
Introduction
BU-001: Sharing Battery Knowledge BU-002: Introduction BU-003: Dedication
Crash Course on Batteries
BU-101: When Was the Battery Invented? BU-102: Early Innovators BU-103: Global Battery Markets BU-103a: Battery Breakthroughs: Myth or Fact? BU-104: Getting to Know the Battery BU-104a: Comparing the Battery with Other Power Sources BU-104b: Battery Building Blocks BU-104c: The Octagon Battery – What makes a Battery a Battery BU-105: Battery Definitions and what they mean BU-106: Advantages of Primary Batteries BU-106a: Choices of Primary Batteries BU-107: Comparison Table of Secondary Batteries
Battery Types
BU-201: How does the Lead Acid Battery Work? BU-201a: Absorbent Glass Mat (AGM) BU-201b: Gel Lead Acid Battery BU-202: New Lead Acid Systems BU-203: Nickel-based Batteries BU-204: How do Lithium Batteries Work? BU-205: Types of Lithium-ion BU-206: Lithium-polymer: Substance or Hype? BU-208: Cycling Performance BU-209: How does a Supercapacitor Work? BU-210: How does the Fuel Cell Work? BU-210a: Why does Sodium-sulfur need to be heated BU-210b: How does the Flow Battery Work? BU-211: Alternate Battery Systems BU-212: Future Batteries BU-214: Summary Table of Lead-based Batteries BU-215: Summary Table of Nickel-based Batteries BU-216: Summary Table of Lithium-based Batteries BU-217: Summary Table of Alternate Batteries BU-218: Summary Table of Future Batteries
Packaging and Safety
BU-301: A look at Old and New Battery Packaging BU-301a: Types of Battery Cells BU-302: Series and Parallel Battery Configurations BU-303: Confusion with Voltages BU-304: Why are Protection Circuits Needed? BU-304a: Safety Concerns with Li-ion BU-304b: Making Lithium-ion Safe BU-304c: Battery Safety in Public BU-305: Building a Lithium-ion Pack BU-306: What is the Function of the Separator? BU-307: How does Electrolyte Work? BU-308: Availability of Lithium BU-309: How does Graphite Work in Li-ion? BU-310: How does Cobalt Work in Li-ion? BU-311: Battery Raw Materials
Charge Methods
BU-401: How do Battery Chargers Work? BU-401a: Fast and Ultra-fast Chargers BU-402: What Is C-rate? BU-403: Charging Lead Acid BU-404: What is Equalizing Charge? BU-405: Charging with a Power Supply BU-406: Battery as a Buffer BU-407: Charging Nickel-cadmium BU-408: Charging Nickel-metal-hydride BU-409: Charging Lithium-ion BU-409a: Why do Old Li-ion Batteries Take Long to Charge? BU-409b: Charging Lithium Iron Phosphate BU-410: Charging at High and Low Temperatures BU-411: Charging from a USB Port BU-412: Charging without Wires BU-413: Charging with Solar, Turbine BU-413a: How to Store Renewable Energy in a Battery BU-414: How do Charger Chips Work? BU-415: How to Charge and When to Charge?
Discharge Methods
BU-501: Basics about Discharging BU-501a: Discharge Characteristics of Li-ion BU-502: Discharging at High and Low Temperatures BU-503: Determining Power Deliver by the Ragone Plot BU-504: How to Verify Sufficient Battery Capacity
The Battery and You
"Smart" Battery
BU-601: How does a Smart Battery Work? BU-602: How does a Battery Fuel Gauge Work? BU-603: How to Calibrate a “Smart” Battery BU-603a: Calibrating SMBus Batteries with Impedance Tracking BU-604: How to Process Data from a “Smart” Battery Testing and Calibrating Smart Batteries
From Birth to Retirement
BU-701: How to Prime Batteries BU-702: How to Store Batteries BU-703: Health Concerns with Batteries BU-704: How to Transport Batteries BU-704a: Shipping Lithium-based Batteries by Air BU-704b: CAUTION & Overpack Labels BU-704c: Class 9 Label BU-704d: NFPA 704 Rating BU-704e: Battery for Personal and Fleet Use BU-705: How to Recycle Batteries BU-705a: Battery Recycling as a Business BU-706: Summary of Do's and Don'ts
How To Prolong Battery Life
General
BU-801: Setting Battery Performance Standards BU-801a: How to Rate Battery Runtime BU-801b: How to Define Battery Life BU-802: What Causes Capacity Loss? BU-802a: How does Rising Internal Resistance affect Performance? BU-802b: What does Elevated Self-discharge Do? BU-802c: How Low can a Battery be Discharged? BU-803: Can Batteries Be Restored? BU-803a: Cell Matching and Balancing BU-803b: What causes Cells to Short? BU-803c: Loss of Electrolyte
Lead Acid
BU-804: How to Prolong Lead-acid Batteries BU-804a: Corrosion, Shedding and Internal Short BU-804b: Sulfation and How to Prevent it BU-804c: Acid Stratification and Surface Charge BU-805: Additives to Boost Flooded Lead Acid BU-806: Tracking Battery Capacity and Resistance as part of Aging BU-806a: How Heat and Loading affect Battery Life
Nickel-based
BU-807: How to Restore Nickel-based Batteries BU-807a: Effect of Zapping
Lithium-ion
BU-808: How to Prolong Lithium-based Batteries BU-808a: How to Awaken a Sleeping Li-ion BU-808b: What Causes Li-ion to Die? BU-808c: Coulombic and Energy Efficiency with the Battery BU-809: How to Maximize Runtime BU-810: What Everyone Should Know About Aftermarket Batteries BU-811: Assuring Minimum Operational Reserve Energy (MORE)
Battery Testing and Monitoring
BU-901: Fundamentals in Battery Testing BU-901b: How to Measure the Remaining Useful Life of a Battery BU-902: How to Measure Internal Resistance BU-902a: How to Measure CCA BU-903: How to Measure State-of-charge BU-904: How to Measure Capacity BU-905: Testing Lead Acid Batteries BU-905a: Testing Starter Batteries in Vehicles BU-905b: Knowing when to Replace a Starter Battery BU-906: Testing Nickel-based Batteries BU-907: Testing Lithium-based Batteries BU-907a: Battery Rapid-test Methods BU-907b: Advancements in Battery Testing BU-907c: Cloud Analytics in Batteries BU-908: Battery Management System (BMS) BU-909: Battery Test Equipment BU-910: How to Repair a Battery Pack BU-911: How to Repair a Laptop Battery BU-915: Testing Battery with EIS
Batteries as Power Source
Amazing Value of a Battery
BU-1001: Batteries in Industries BU-1002: Electric Powertrain, then and now BU-1002a: Hybrid Electric Vehicles and the Battery BU-1002b: Environmental Benefit of the Electric Powertrain BU-1003: Electric Vehicle (EV) BU-1003a: Battery Aging in an Electric Vehicle (EV) BU-1004: Charging an Electric Vehicle BU-1005: Does the Fuel Cell-powered Vehicle have a Future? BU-1006: Cost of Mobile and Renewable Power BU-1007: Net Calorific Value BU-1008: Working towards Sustainability BU-1009: Battery Paradox - Afterword
Information
BU-1101: Glossary BU-1102: Abbreviations BU-1103: Bibliography BU-1104: About the Author BU-1105: About Cadex (Sponsor) BU-1106: Author's Creed BU-1107: Disclaimer BU-1108: Copyright
Learning Tools
BU-1501 Battery History BU-1502 Basics about Batteries BU-1503 How to Maintain Batteries BU-1504 Battery Test & Analyzing Devices BU-1505 Short History of Cadex
Battery Articles
Perception of a Battery Tester Green Deal Risk Management in Batteries Predictive Test Methods for Starter Batteries Why Mobile Phone Batteries do not last as long as an EV Battery Battery Rapid-test Methods How to Charge Li-ion with a Parasitic Load Ultra-fast Charging Assuring Safety of Lithium-ion in the Workforce Diagnostic Battery Management Tweaking the Mobile Phone Battery Battery Test Methods Battery Testing and Safety How to Make Battery Performance Transparent Battery Diagnostics On-the-fly Making Battery State-of-health Transparent Batteries will eventually die, but when and how? Why does Pokémon Go rob so much Battery Power? How to Care for the Battery Tesla’s iPhone Moment — How the Powerwall will Change Global Energy Use Painting the Battery Green by giving it a Second Life Charging without Wires — A Solution or Laziness What everyone should know about Battery Chargers A Look at Cell Formats and how to Build a good Battery Battery Breakthroughs — Myth or Fact? Rapid-test Methods that No Longer Work Shipping Lithium-based Batteries by Air How to make Batteries more Reliable and Longer Lasting What causes Lithium-ion to die? Safety of Lithium-ion Batteries Recognizing Battery Capacity as the Missing Link Managing Batteries for Warehouse Logistics Caring for your Starter Battery Giving Batteries a Second Life How to Make Batteries in Medical Devices More Reliable Possible Solutions for the Battery Problem on the Boeing 787 Impedance Spectroscopy Checks Battery Capacity in 15 Seconds How to Improve the Battery Fuel Gauge Examining Loading Characteristics on Primary and Secondary Batteries
Language Pool
BU-001: Compartir conocimiento sobre baterías BU-002: Introducción BU-003: Dedicatoria BU-104: Conociendo la Batería BU-302: Configuraciones de Baterías en Serie y Paralelo
Batteries in a Portable World book
Change-log of “Batteries in a Portable World,” 4th edition: Chapters 1 - 3 Change-log of “Batteries in a Portable World,” 4th edition: Chapters 4 - 10
View Archived Posts
Does the Battery Fuel Gauge Lie? Weird and Wonderful Batteries Will Secondary Batteries replace Primaries? Advancements in Lead Acid Can the Lead-acid Battery Compete in Modern Times? Understanding Lithium-ion Pouch Cell - Small but not Trouble Free Lithium-ion Safety Concerns Will the Reusable Alkaline Battery have a Future? How does Internal Resistance affect Performance? Non-correctable Battery Problems How to Service Two-way Radio Batteries How to Service Cell Phone Batteries Industrial Applications Computerized Battery Testing Why do Different Test Methods Provide Dissimilar Readings? Wheeled and Stationary Starting is Easy, but can I Steer and Brake? Are Hybrid Cars Here to Stay? The Cost of Portable Power The Future Battery Battery Testing Equipment Battery Fuel Gauge: Factual or Fallacy? What's the Best Battery? Four Renegades of Battery Failure The Secrets of Battery Runtime Modern Lead Battery Systems Is Lithium-ion the Ideal Battery? The High-power Lithium-ion The Smart Battery Will the Fuel Cell have a Second Life? The Battery and the Digital Load Wireless Communications Memory: Myth or Fact? Portable Computing Advanced Battery Analyzers Rapid Testing Portable Batteries Observing Batteries in Everyday Life What Causes Car Batteries to Fail? Is the Electric Car Mature? Batteries against Fossil Fuel Is Li-ion the Solution for the Electric Vehicle? Battery Statistics BU-1109: Links to Cadex website and Battery University