For your reference we have created this page wherein you can refer and understand the jargons associated with laptop batteries. Keep yourself updated with these terms to be very sure of the specifications that you will need to provide while purchasing batteries for your laptop.
Ambient temperature
It refers to the average temperature of the surrounding medium of the lapotp battery. Usually air is the surrounding medium.
Ampere-hours
Ampere-hours are a measure of energy that is provided to or drawn from a battery. Ampere is a unit of the current passing through the battery. Hour as you know is a unit of the time for which the current passes the battery. 1 Ampere current passing through the battery for 1 hour provides energy of 1 Ampere-hour.
Battery Cycle
A battery cycle refers to one full charge followed by one full discharge or the other way round that is a full discharge followed by a full charge.
C-code
It is an abbreviation for configuration code. This information is typically stored in a battery adapter and configures the analyzer to the correct battery settings when it is installed.
C-rate
It is the unit by which charge and discharge times are scaled. A battery rated at 2000mAh provides 2000mA for 1 hour if discharged at 1C. The same battery when discharged at 0.5C would provide 1000mA for two hours.
Capacity Offset
It is a correction factor applied to the rating of a battery if discharged under different C-rates from the one rated.
Cell mismatch
A battery pack is made of a number of cells either connected in series or in parallel. These form the basic energy blocks of a battery. Cell mismatch refers to cells within a battery pack containing different capacity and voltage levels.
Cell Reversal
Cell reversal in laptop batteries refer to the reversal of polarity across a weaker cell. This can be done by stronger cells of a battery (several cells connected in series) during a deep discharge.
Charge
It is the process of replenishing or replacing the electrical charge in a rechargeable cell or battery.
Coulomb
A unit of electric charge used to measure the ingoing and outgoing discharge current of a battery. One coulomb (1C) is equal to the electricity transferred by a current of one ampere in one second. 96495.7C is the equivalent to 26.8Ah of capacity. 96495.7C is also known as a farad.
Current-limiting chargers
A charger that keeps the charge current constant during the charge process but allows the voltage to fluctuate (typically used on NiCd and NiMH chargers).
Charge Cycle
A charge cycle is a process consisting of a single charge and a single discharge of a rechargeable battery.
Cycle life
The number of cycles a battery provides before it is no longer usable. (A battery is considered non-usable if its nominal capacity falls below 60% to 80%.
Dumb battery
A battery which contains no electronic circuitry with which to communicate digitally.
Electrode
Conducting element within a cell in which an electrochemical reaction occurs. Normally includes active materials plus conductive and supportive elements.
Electrolyte
A non-metallic conductor of electricity (typically liquid) between the positive and negative electrodes of a battery. The current is carried by the physical movement of ions. Apart for providing a medium for the chemical reaction to take place it also helps in fastening the reaction.
Fast charge
Typical fast charge time for a NiCd is 1 to 3 hours. The fast-charger detects the state-of-charge and switches to trickle charge when full-charge is reached.
Float charge
Float charge is similar to trickle charge. It compensates for the self-discharge on a lead acid battery.
Intelligent battery
It's also known as a ‘smart’ battery. Unlike dumb battery the intelligent battery pack contains internal circuitry to enable communication between the battery and the user.
Load current
The discharge current delivered to a battery-powered device is known as the load current or output current.
Memory effect
Memory effect refers to reversible capacity loss in NiCd and NiMH batteries. The modern definition of memory commonly refers to a change in crystalline formation from the desirable small size to a large size. Memory is often used to describe any reversible capacity loss on nickel-based batteries.
Milliampere-hour
It is a measure of the laptop battery capacity. A battery that provides a current of 1000mA for 1 hour is rated at 1000mAh (or 1Ah).
Negative delta V (NDV)
Negative delta V refers to a drop in the laptop battery voltage, which occurs when a sealed NiCd or NiMH battery reaches the full charge state and goes into overcharge.
Overcharge
Overcharge refers to charging of batteries after reaching full charge. On overcharge, the battery no longer absorbs charge and consequently heats up.
Passivation layer
It is a resistive layer that forms in some cells after prolonged storage. This layer must be broken to enable proper operation. Applying charge/discharge cycles often helps in preparing the battery for use.
Quick charger
A quick charger charges a battery in 3 to 6 hours.
Run time
A laptop battery run time refers to the time for which the battery can provide power to the laptop per charging process.
State-of-Charge (SoC)
SoC is a measurement that reflects the state-of-charge of a battery. The SoC alone is not a valid indicator of the runtime of the laptop battery. The SoC readings will indicate 100 percent, even if a battery whose acceptance has dropped to 50 percent is fully charged.
Trickle charge
Trickle charge is the maintenance charge to compensate for the self-discharge of the laptop battery.
Voltage limit
The voltage value beyond which a battery is not permitted to rise on charge or fall on discharge is known as the voltage limit.
Voltage-limiting charger
A voltage limiting charger limits the maximum voltage to a battery but allows the current to drop towards the end of charge. A voltage-limiting charge may also include current-limiting.
Zapping
At times a momentary high current pulse is applied to a laptop battery to improve performance. This process is called as zapping. Zapping is said to improve new NiCd batteries but does not restore weak packs.
