Battery

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Battery, also electric cell, device that converts chemical energy into electricity. Strictly speaking, a battery consists of two or more cells connected in series or parallel, but the term is also used for single cells. All cells consist of a liquid, paste, or solid electrolyte and a positive electrode, and a negative electrode. The electrolyte is an ionic conductor; one of the electrodes will react, producing electrons, while the other will accept electrons. When the electrodes are connected to a device to be powered, called a load, an electrical current flows.

Batteries in which the chemicals cannot be reconstituted into their original form once the energy has been converted (that is, batteries that have been discharged) are called primary cells or voltaic cells. Batteries in which the chemicals can be reconstituted by passing an electric current through them in the direction opposite that of normal cell operation are called secondary cells, rechargeable cells, storage cells, or accumulators.

SOLAR BATTERY

Solar batteries produce electricity by a photoelectric conversion process. The source of electricity is a photosensitive semiconducting substance such as a silicon crystal to which impurities have been added. When the crystal is struck by light, electrons are dislodged from the surface of the crystal and migrate toward the opposite surface. There they are collected as a current of electricity. Solar batteries have very long lifetimes and are used chiefly in spacecraft as a source of electricity to operate the equipment aboard. See Solar Energy.

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