AA battery - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

An AA battery is a standard size of battery

Battery (electricity)

An electrical battery is one or more electrochemical cells that convert stored chemical energy into electrical energy. Since the invention of the first battery in 1800 by Alessandro Volta and especially since the technically improved Daniell cell in 1836, batteries have become a common power...

. Batteries of this size are the most commonly used type of in portable electronic devices. An AA battery is composed of a single electrochemical cell

Electrochemical cell

An electrochemical cell is a device capable of either deriving electrical energy from chemical reactions, or facilitating chemical reactions through the introduction of electrical energy. A common example of an electrochemical cell is a standard 1.5-volt "battery"...

. The exact terminal voltage

Voltage

Voltage, otherwise known as electrical potential difference or electric tension is the difference in electric potential between two points — or the difference in electric potential energy per unit charge between two points...

and capacity of an AA size battery depends on the cell chemistry.

The AA battery size was standardized by the American National Standards Institute

Ansi

Ansi is a village in Kaarma Parish, Saare County, on the island of Saaremaa, Estonia....

in 1947, but had been used in flashlights and electrical novelties for some time before formal standardization. Battery nomenclature

Battery nomenclature

Standard battery nomenclature describes portable dry cell batteries that are interchangeable in physical dimensions and electrical characteristics between manufacturers. The long history of disposable dry cells means that many different manufacturer-specific and national standards were used to...

gives different designations depending on cell size and chemistry. For example, a zinc–carbon (Leclanché) AA cell is designated "15" by ANSI

Ansi

Ansi is a village in Kaarma Parish, Saare County, on the island of Saaremaa, Estonia....

, and R6 in the IEC

International Electrotechnical Commission

The International Electrotechnical Commission is a non-profit, non-governmental international standards organization that prepares and publishes International Standards for all electrical, electronic and related technologies – collectively known as "electrotechnology"...

system.

In 2011, AA batteries accounted for approximately 60% of alkaline primary (non-rechargeable)

Primary cell

A primary cell is any kind of battery in which the electrochemical reaction is not reversible, rendering the cell non-rechargeable. A common example of a primary cell is the disposable battery. Unlike a secondary cell, the reaction cannot be reversed by running a current into the cell; the chemical...

battery sales in the United States. In Japan, 58% of alkaline primary batteries sold were AA. In Switzerland, AA batteries totaled 55% in both primary and secondary(rechargeable)

Rechargeable battery

A rechargeable battery or storage battery is a group of one or more electrochemical cells. They are known as secondary cells because their electrochemical reactions are electrically reversible. Rechargeable batteries come in many different shapes and sizes, ranging anything from a button cell to...

battery sales.

	Zinc–carbon	Alkaline Alkaline battery Alkaline batteries are a type of primary batteries dependent upon the reaction between zinc and manganese dioxide . A rechargeable alkaline battery allows reuse of specially designed cells....	Li-FeS₂ Lithium battery Lithium batteries are disposable batteries that have lithium metal or lithium compounds as an anode. Depending on the design and chemical compounds used, lithium cells can produce voltages from 1.5 V to about 3.7 V, over twice the voltage of an ordinary zinc–carbon battery or alkaline battery...	NiCd	NiMH	NiZn
IEC name	R6	LR6	FR6	KR6	HR6	?
ANSI/NEDA name	15D	15A	15LF	1.2K2	1.2H2	?
Capacity under 500mA constant drain	400-1000 mAh MAH The National Security Service was the governmental intelligence organization of Turkey between 1926 and 1965, when it was replaced by the National Intelligence Organization ....	1800-2600 mAh MAH The National Security Service was the governmental intelligence organization of Turkey between 1926 and 1965, when it was replaced by the National Intelligence Organization ....	2700-3400 mAh MAH The National Security Service was the governmental intelligence organization of Turkey between 1926 and 1965, when it was replaced by the National Intelligence Organization ....	600– 1000 mAh MAH The National Security Service was the governmental intelligence organization of Turkey between 1926 and 1965, when it was replaced by the National Intelligence Organization ....	2200–2900 mAh MAH The National Security Service was the governmental intelligence organization of Turkey between 1926 and 1965, when it was replaced by the National Intelligence Organization ....	1500-1800 mAh MAH The National Security Service was the governmental intelligence organization of Turkey between 1926 and 1965, when it was replaced by the National Intelligence Organization ....
Nominal voltage Voltage Voltage, otherwise known as electrical potential difference or electric tension is the difference in electric potential between two points — or the difference in electric potential energy per unit charge between two points...	1.50 V	1.50 V	1.50 V	1.25 V	1.25 V	1.65 V
Rechargeable	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes

Dimensions

An AA battery measures 51 mm (2 in) in length—50.1 mm (2 in) without the button terminal

Battery terminals

Battery terminals are the electrical contacts used to connect a load and/or charger to a single cell or multiple-cell battery. These terminals have a wide variety of designs, sizes, and features that are often not well documented....

—and 13.5 – in diameter.
Alkaline

Alkaline battery

Alkaline batteries are a type of primary batteries dependent upon the reaction between zinc and manganese dioxide . A rechargeable alkaline battery allows reuse of specially designed cells....

AA batteries have a mass of roughly 23 g (0.811301128417575 oz), lithium AA batteries have a mass around 15 g (0.529109431576679 oz), and rechargeable NiMH batteries around 31 g (1.1 oz).

Primary chemistry and capacity

Primary (non-rechargeable) zinc–carbon (Leclanché cell

Leclanché cell

Georges Leclanché invented and patented his battery, the Leclanché cell, in 1866. The battery contained a conducting solution of ammonium chloride, a cathode of carbon, a depolarizer of manganese dioxide, and an anode of zinc...

) AA batteries have around 400–900 milli

Milli

Milli is a prefix in the metric system denoting a factor of one thousandth . Adopted in 1795, the prefix comes from the Latin mille, meaning one thousand ....

amp-hours

Ampere-hour

An ampere-hour or amp-hour is a unit of electric charge, with sub-units milliampere-hour and milliampere second...

capacity, depending entirely on test conditions, duty cycle, and cut-off voltage selected. Zinc–carbon batteries are usually marketed as "general purpose" batteries. Zinc-chloride batteries store around 1000 to 1500 mAh are often sold as "heavy duty" or "super heavy duty". Alkaline batteries

Alkaline battery

Alkaline batteries are a type of primary batteries dependent upon the reaction between zinc and manganese dioxide . A rechargeable alkaline battery allows reuse of specially designed cells....

from 1700 mAh to 3000 mAh cost a little more than zinc-chloride batteries, but last proportionally longer.

Non-rechargeable lithium batteries

Lithium battery

Lithium batteries are disposable batteries that have lithium metal or lithium compounds as an anode. Depending on the design and chemical compounds used, lithium cells can produce voltages from 1.5 V to about 3.7 V, over twice the voltage of an ordinary zinc–carbon battery or alkaline battery...

are manufactured for devices that drain a large amount of power such as digital camera

Digital camera

A digital camera is a camera that takes video or still photographs, or both, digitally by recording images via an electronic image sensor. It is the main device used in the field of digital photography...

s, where their high cost is offset by longer running time between battery changes.

Rechargeable chemistry and capacity

Rechargeable Nickel–cadmium battery (NiCd or NiCad) AAs with a capacity of 500 – 1100 mAh are available, cost increasing with capacity. Nickel–metal hydride (NiMH) AAs are also available in various capacities of 1300 – 3000 mAh.

Low self-discharge NiMh batteries

Low self-discharge NiMH battery

The low self-discharge nickel-metal hydride battery was introduced in November 2005. These batteries were developed by Sanyo, who called them "eneloop". Subsequently, other manufacturers also offered LSD NiMH....

are also made in the AA size.

Rechargeable AA-sized batteries based on Li-ion chemistry have also been introduced. These batteries are rated at 3.6 volts and are incompatible with most AA-based devices. AA lithiums have a relatively low internal resistance that effectively provides very high current if shorted. Equipment designed to rely on a battery's internal resistance to limit current may not tolerate higher inrush current with lithium cells.

Where space permits, a pair of AA batteries can sometimes be replaced by a single CR-V3 battery.

Other common names

U7 (In Britain until the 1980s)
Pencil-sized
Penlight
Mignon
MN1500
MX1500
Type 316 (Soviet Union/Russia)
UM 3 (JIS)
#5 (China)
6135-99-052-0009 (NSN)(carbon-zinc)
6135-99-195-6708 (NSN)(alkaline)

External links

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