| In the third millennium the laptop has become number one device extensively used by students, businessmen, travellers etc. Since it is portable, it can be taken aboard an airplane to watch business presentations or send/receive messages from colleagues or business partners. However, the laptops cannot run 24/7 non-stop. At times the laptop battery needs re-charging. Hardly has anybody thought most the first laptop batteries and their power.
In fact, the history of laptop batteries is an exciting one. They have been updated and upgraded a lot, but they still have a long way ahead to perfection. When we think about laptop batteries, many of us think about the rechargeable ones that are deployed at present. Yet, several decades ago AA batteries were extensively deployed in laptops. It took many AA batteries to run a laptop. Moreover, it could not run for long. Some users remember the heavy lead acid based batteries. Neither lasted they long, nor were they light.
Since then the manufacture of laptop batteries has been modified. Lighter nickel cadmium batteries (NiCd) substituted lead acid based ones. However, these batteries were not used long, because there were developed nickel metal hydride batteries (differently called NiMH). They lasted a lot longer and were lighter. Their drawback was that they had the so-called memory effect. If not discharged to the fullest, the battery remembered it and its output was lower.
When lithium ion batteries (LiON) appeared on the market, users witnessed a tremendous progress in laptop batteries manufacture. These batteries are much lighter if compared to other batteries and do not produce any memory defect. They are deployed in laptops of the next generation.
Although LiON batteries run for several hours non-stop, they need re-charging. Since more and more people get laptops yearly, the demand for longer lasting batteries is ever raising. Surely, there will be improvements until laptop batteries that never go dead are made. Regardless of the purpose you use a portable computer for, you know that you require a battery with a longer life. You need to know the battery will not go dead when you need your portable computer most of all. |
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