Introduction

It all started with Alessandro Volta, an Italian physicist, who invented the electric battery. That’s when people came to know about storing energy. We are often surrounded by battery powered gadgets without our knowledge, as every gadget ranging from torchlight to massive cars can be powered by batteries. Rechargeable batteries are now very popular and are widely used in gadgets. The entry of mobile phones and notebooks has triggered further development of the technology.

When it comes to mobile computing, battery life is of utmost concern. With CPUs getting more powerful people wanting to use their mobile devices for more demanding tasks, batteries are not able to match their pace. Even though all the batteries work on the same general principle the chemical composition of each type differs. Mobile computing batteries have undergone many changes over the past several years and at present there are three discrete battery types on the market. Let’s take a closer look at each type.

Nickel Cadmium (Ni-Cd)

Nickel and cadmium fusion was the first technology employed in batteries. The major component of the battery is cadmium, a toxic heavy metal that is hazardous to the environment. As a result these batteries should be recycled or disposed of properly. Electronics manufacturers do not rely anymore on these batteries as they are outdated and too bulky compared to more modern designs. The main problem of Ni-Cd batteries is that they are prone to the “memory effect”. If you recharge a 70% drained Ni-Cd battery continuously, the battery forgets that it has the remaining  30% capacity to discharge and over time it starts to utilize only the 70% of the battery. So the best way to get the maximum output from a Ni-Cd battery is to fully charge it and discharge it. A NiCd battery takes only 1 hour to get completely charged and on an average they can last up to 300-1000 cycles.