Do you call it a ''cell'' or a ''battery''?

Do you call it a "cell" or a "battery"?


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The_LED_Museum

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In regards to all primary (disposable) or secondary (rechargeable) devices that furnish 1.2, 1.5, 3.0, or 3.6+ volts DC, such as NiCd, NiMH, zinc-carbon, alkaline, lithium (of any chemistry), etc.

Do you call it a "CELL" or a "BATTERY"?

I searched for a poll like this but came up empty, so I sincerely apologise if this poll has been done before.
 

Josey

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I've been forcing myself to call it a cell and a group of cells a battery. Drives my friends nuts.
 

drizzle

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I voted battery as that is what I usually say but for some reason I got in the habit of saying "D cell". Pretty much every other size and type I say battery. Go figure. :)
 

65535

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usually I say battery to the newblets in life and a cell to people who are smart usually i say battery pack for a group of cells.
 

SilverFox

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Hello Craig,

My dictionary says:

Battery, a. Two or more connected cells that produce a direct current by converting chemical energy to electrical energy. b. A single cell, such as a dry cell, that produces an electric current.

A single cell can be referred to as either a battery or a cell. When you combine several cells, you have a battery.

Tom
 

nerdgineer

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I know that most of our typical batteries consist of single cells, but I still call them batteries because the improved communication and socialization of using a common parlance often outweights the abstract benefit of technical accuracy in speech, unless talking technical specifics with other engineers or otherwise going through dog sniffing rituals among fellow geeks...:grin2:
 
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idleprocess

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Depends on the audience. I typically refer to them by their proper terms when addressing a an audience with technical know-how, but use the term "battery" when speaking to a more general audience. The distinction is pointless to the general public and not really getting into.
 

Martini

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I couldn't vote on this one. I use the two terms interchangeably. My fiancé says she uses "cell," but I've heard her say battery as well.
 

abvidledUK

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Despite the true term for a single cell is cell, I use battery.

Similarly, it's a torch !!
 

MrAl

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Hi there,

Technically, the most basic part of a battery is the cell, so a battery
is made up of cells, where the cell is the device that has the smallest
voltage available in the system (either directly or indirectly) and its
voltage comes into existance via its nominal voltage for its chemistry.
A good example of this is a lead acid car *battery*, where the nominal
voltage is 12v but the nominal voltage of a single lead acid *cell* is 2v.
It would be a mistake to call the whole car battery a *cell*. Note that you
can not get any voltage lower than the cell voltage for any given chemistry.

There are, however, batteries that exist that are made of only one cell.
A good example of this is the 1.5v alkaline battery. This means it can
be called a *cell* or a *battery*.

A simple chart might look like this:
CELL: Basic electro-chemical device that produces dc current
BATTERY: Made up of one or more cells
BATTERY BANK: Made up of one or more batteries
BATTERY PACK: same as battery bank

Interestingly, even though a 9v 'battery' is one complete device i have
never heard anyone call it a "9v cell", although i guess it is possible because
externally it appears to be one unit. Technically this would be incorrect,
because a 9v battery is made up of several smaller cells inside.

In light of all this, i would have to say that you call something a
cell or a battery depending on its construction, and some constructions
can be called either cell or battery.

Because of this you may wish to add a third choice to the poll:

*BOTH*.


BTW, in a poll like this with the three options:

*CELL
*BATTERY
*BOTH

I would have to check all three.
 
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jtr1962

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I call it a cell but this drives uneducated people crazy. I'll hear comments like "What does a prison have to do with a battery?" Trying to explain the difference between "cell" and "battery" usually ends up being wasted breathe. :banghead:
 

NiOOH

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The term "cell" is short for electrochemical cell, which is a system of a positive electrode, a negative electrode, an electrolyte and (not aways) a separator. The overall cell potential is determined as a sum of the potentials of the electrode reactions.
A multi-cell pack is always called a battery. A single-cell pack can be called either a cell or a (single cell) battery. Electrochemists and electrical engineers prefer the term cell, the rest of the world uses battery.
Strictly speaking, the term single-cell battery or single-cell battery pack is IMO the most accurate, since this is a system consisting not only of the electrochemicall cell itself, but also comprising propper electrode terminals, casing of a standard size and, in some cases, safety vents or other safety devices.
 
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EngrPaul

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It's called a cell when talking technical.

It's called a battery when talking to non-techical folk. They never know what a cell is, they look at you strange.
 
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