Enhancing battery lifetimes 4692

On Wed, 07 Sep 2005 15:47:48 -0400, Madhusudan Singh

I believe that most laptop batteries are Ni-Cad (Nickel - Cadmium), although why you don't get something better for that much money is something I do not understand. Ni-Cd batteries are definitely NOT the best choice for this type of applications. A little searching of the available information will lead to several facts regarding Ni-Cd batteries - several of the characteristics are:

1) they have a long shelf life after being charged i.e. they don't lose their juice very swiftly.

2) they exhibit a 'memory' phenomenon - i.e. if you recharge it before it is completely exhausted, then it tends to stop producing useful current sooner the next time.

My suggestions for best battery life: run it until the battery is totally depleted and then charge it up (actually, you should let it cool down first) and pull the plug. Finally, hope for some Ni-MH (Nickel-Metal Hydride) batteries in the future. They hold much more energy, and don't have a 'memory' effect. Downsides: they have a shorted shelf life and they're quite a bit more expensive. BTW this is part of the reason that electric cars are really not practical right now. There are no cost effective batteries that will last more than a few (3-4) years in that sort of use.