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B&H Glossary of Terms - Batteries
   

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Battery Glossary of Terms
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

A

Ampere


Measurement of the strength of a current. Rate of flow of electrons. Expressed as A.
(See Ampere Hour, Current, Run Time)

Ampere Hour

(Ah)
The quantity of electricity that a cell or battery is capable of delivering in one hour. Measured in ampere-hours (Ah).
(See Ampere, Current)

Automatique

(Anton Bauer)
A special power circuit in an Anton Bauer Gold mount, locks to the VTR roll signal in most popular camcorder models allowing an Ultralight on-camera light, to turn on/off automatically in sync with the VTR roll.

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C

Capacity


The amount of available energy in a fully charged battery. Capacity is rated in Ampere-Hours (Ah).
(See C-Rate)

Cell


The basic electrochemical component of a battery used to generate or store electrical energy.

Charge


The conversion of electrical energy, provided in the form of a current from an external source (charger), into chemical energy within a cell/battery.
(See Trickle Charge)


C-Rate


The charge and discharge current of a battery is measured in C-Rate. Most batteries are rated at 1C. A discharge of 1C draws a current equal to the rated battery capacity. For example, a battery rated at 1000mAh provides 1000mA for one hour if discharged at 1C rate. The same battery discharged at 0.5C would provide 500mA for two hours, or at 2C it would deliver 2000mA for 30 minutes. 1C is often also referred to as a one hour discharge rate; a 0.5C would be a two hour, and a 0.1C a 10 hour discharge rate.
(See Capacity)

Current


The movement of electrons through a conductor, measured in amperes.
(See Ampere, Ampere Hour)

Cycle


The sequence where a charged battery is discharged and recharged.
(See Cycle Life)

Cycle Life


The number of cycles under specified conditions that are available from a secondary battery before it fails to meet specified criteria as to performance.
(See Cycle)

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D

DC

(Direct Current)
Electrical current that flows in one direction only. Batteries produce direct current as the current flows from a negative to a positive source.

Discharge


The conversion of the chemical energy of a battery into electrical energy.
(See Self-Discharge Rate)

Digi-View (IDX)
A feature found in certain models of batteries, which enables the capacity of the battery to be viewed in the cameras viewfinder (in percentage). Check your camera model for compatibility.

DOD

(Depth of Discharge)
The percentage of the capacity to which a cell or battery has been discharged. Expresses the fraction of the usable capacity consumed. Expressed in Percent (%).

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E

Electrolyte


A solution which conducts an electrical current and supports ionized particles as they travel within the battery. Battery cells, in general are surrounded by an electrolyte medium.

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F

Fluid Leakage


The leakage of electrolytic fluid to the outer surface of the battery.
(See Electrolyte)

FPC - Full Power Charging

(IDX)
The ability of Li-Ion to take a high initial fast charge is utilized with a maximum power balance charge program to ensure that the maximum charge rate is always available to each battery. This produces the highest charge rate in the shortest amount of time. Any available power on one channel can be controlled for use on a second channel to reduce overall charge time. This is possible because the Full Power Charging method uses an on-board computer inside each Li-Ion battery pack to communicate with the charger for the fastest charging available.

Fuel Gauge

(Anton Bauer)
Anton Bauer Gold Mounts include special InterActive contacts which transmit the current digital battery condition to the camcorders viewfinder. Check your camera model for compatibility.

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G

Gel Cell


Generally refers to a battery cell, which incorporates a "gelled " electrolyte medium (diluted sulfuric acid). A gelled electrolyte minimizes battery leakage concerns.
(See Lead-Acid, Electrolyte)

Gold Mount

(Anton Bauer)
A three-pin battery mounting system design to securely attach a battery to portable equipment.
(See PowerTap)

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L

Lead Acid

(Battery Chemistry)
Also known as Gel-Cell or Starved Electrolyte.
  • Advantages:
    Low cost, high per cell voltage, no memory effect and good capacity life.
  • Disadvantages:
    Poor low temperature performance characteristics, relatively heavy, and cannot be left in a discharged state for too long without being damaged.

(See Gel-Cell, Memory Effect, Starved Electrolyte)

Lithium Ion

(Li-Ion) (Battery Chemistry)
A type of a battery composed of Lithium, an Alkali Metal element, No 3 on the periodic table, which offers a high electrochemical potential. Lithium chemistry requires, protection circuits (IC) to manage and protect the battery and devices it's powering. Because of the lightweight and high energy density characteristics of Lithium-Ion batteries, they are ideal for devices with high power consumptions, such as professional camcorders or field monitors. In addition, Lithium-Ion batteries have no memory effect and do not use poisonous metals, such as lead, mercury or cadmium.

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M

Memory Effect

(Voltage Depression)
A phenomenon in which a cell or battery is discharged repetitively in successive cycles to the same, but less than full, depth of discharge, temporarily losing the rest of its true capacity at normal voltage levels. Also known as Voltage Depression.
(See Capacity, DOD, Nickel Cadmium, Voltage)

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N

Nickel Cadmium

(NiCd) (Battery Chemistry)
One of the more commonly used batteries chemistries.
  • Advantages:
    Inexpensive, lightweight, high power density and can be quick charged.
  • Disadvantages:
    Susceptible to Memory Effect. Loses approximately 10% of its power in the first 24 hours of storage, then 1% to 2% each day after. A quality charger with a cell balancing/conditioning circuit can greatly improve the shelf life. Cadmium is environmentally harmful and needs to be disposed of in accordance with local and federal guidelines.

Nickel Metal Hydride

(NiMh) (Battery Chemistry)
Interchangeable with most NiCd batteries, Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMh) batteries offer a greater energy density (up to 40%) over NiCds and are environmentally more friendly than NiCds since they do not contain cadmium. NiMh cells do not experience voltage depression, eliminating any memory effect concerns.
(See DOD, Nickel Cadmium)

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P

Power Indicator

(IDX)
3 LED On-board battery capacity indicator. Displays battery capacity in percentage.

PowerLink

(IDX)
IDX exclusive power doubling technology. The ability to link (dock) two ENDURA batteries to one another, doubling the available capacity and voltage for extended run times.

Power Status Display

(IDX)
5 LED On-board accurate battery capacity indicator. Highly accurate display of the cumulative load capacity of the battery.

PowerTap

(Anton Bauer & IDX)
A two-pin connection found on all Anton Bauer Gold Mounts, IDX V-Mounts and most camcorders. The PowerTap connection allows for an on camera light to share battery power with the camera. Unlike a barrel connector, the small, unobtrusive connector does not protrude from the camera.
(See V-Mount, Gold Mount)

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R

Run Time


The typical run time that a particular battery should offer a piece of equipment can be easily derived at by first multiplying the battery Voltage (V) by the specified Ampere Hour (Ah) of the battery. This will produce the battery's Watt Hour (Wh) rating (VxAh=Wh). Once you have the Watt Hour rating for the battery, all that you need to do is divide the Watt Hour by the equipment's power consumption, which is rated in Watts (Wh/W= Battery Run Time).
Example:
A 14V / 3.5Ah, 50Wh battery will power a camcorder with an 18W power consumption for 2.7 hours.
(See Ampere Hour, Voltage, Watt, Watt Hour)

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S

Self-Discharge Rate


The amount to which the capacity of the battery is reduced without there being any discharge current from an external device. All battery technologies have an adherent self-discharge rate that is based on the chemistry utilized by the battery, storage method and ambient temperature.
(See Discharge)

Separator


An electronically nonconductive, material which prevents electronic contact between electrodes of opposite polarity within the same cell.

Series


The interconnection of cells in such a manner that the positive terminal of the first is connected to the negative terminal of the second, and so on, resulting in increased voltage.

Shelf-Life


The duration of storage under conditions specified by the manufacturer, at the end of which the battery is still at full capacity.

Starved Electrolyte

(Battery Chemistry)
(See Lead-Acid)

Syncron

(IDX)
A function of the battery mounting plate/box, automatically activates an on-camera light when the record function of the camcorder is engaged. Check your camera model for compatibility.

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T

Trickle Charge


A charge at a low rate. Natural loss to the cells current available capacity is balanced by a periodic charge or discharge in order to maintain a fully charged condition.
(See Charge)

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V

V-Mount

(Sony, IDX)
A V-shaped mounting system for on-board camera batteries.

Voltage


Unit of potential power. Electric pressure; the force which causes current to flow through an electrical conductor. Expressed as V
(See Run Time)

Voltage Depression


(See Memory Effect)

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W

Watt


A common measurement of energy, arrived at by multiplying the voltage by the amperage. Expressed as W.
(See Ampere, Run Time, Voltage, Watt Hour)

Watt Hour

(Wh)
A measurement of energy produced in one hour of discharge. Arrived at by multiplying the voltage of the equipment by the amp hour rating of the battery. Since the power consumption of most equipment is expressed in watts, the Watt Hour rating is the simplest way to determine the potential run-time. Expressed as Wh.
(See Ampere, Run Time, Voltage, Watt)

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