Ever wonder about the differences between alkaline, nickel metal hydride, and lithium-ion batteries? Wonder no more!
Alkaline batteries are great for their initial higher voltage, but the total current available drops off (along with the voltage) over time.
NiMH cells have a lower voltage, but it stays constant along with the available current.
And finally, lithium-ion batteries are in a class of their own: You can even get high C-rating Li-ion cells where you can safely pull even more current than the cell is rated at, and the voltage only drops a relatively small amount.
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In some applications you need to use alkaline batteries. Some devices can detect the remaining useful lifespan and warn the user when they should switch in a new battery. Other battery types can simply suddenly give up the ghost – their output is roughly constant till it just stops. This can be dangerous for example in health related applications, where the ability to reliably predict the need to switch is worth the cost of slightly degrading performance over time.
Great information, Thanks for the Detailed Analysis of Alkaline, NiMH, and Lithium-ion batteries. Now I will be able to decipher when to choose rechargeable over disposable batteries or disposable batteries over rechargeable batteries.