History of Standarization of Batteries -
One that I've thought of recently are batteries. Who designates the sizings and + = bump, - = flat standard that is everywhere in consumer battery technology.
A not-so-quick Google (the magic words eventually were "Battery Consumer history standardization") produces one hint from the Consumer Electronics Assocation's useful Digital Nation history project:
In 1912, the American Electrochemical Society standardized the basic consumer battery sizes, accepted in 1919 by the National Bureau of Standards, which becomes ANSI (American National Standards Institute).So this might tell us who did it but what was the form of this decision - was it a patented design that was licenses, a co-developed design - who decided that it should even be standardized instead of limiting the types of batteries consumers could use in products (as an ongoing revenue source). Was the standard based on an international one (this is a US-centric history so the Amercian Electochemical Society might have imported a UK standard). When did the standard become international and were there national battery standards (to promote national electronic industries?)
Why did batteries get standardized and not razor blades or ink cartridges? Or - what causes an industry to standardize its products.
Oh - the joy of academia :)
Posted by james at December 20, 2002 12:07 AMQuestion: I am familiar with battery size/shape A, c, d and more. Is ther a “B” battery?
Question: I am familiar with battery size/shape A, c, d and more. Is ther a “B” battery?
Is there a modern equivalent to the TR-146R reference ?
9V block is too long. A voltage indication would already help.
I had the same question/curiosity. Came upon your site while googling for it. What I was wondering, along with “Is there a B battery?” is why “AA” and “AAA” are so popular, but you never see “A”. Also, why do some foreign products have these odd required battery designations, which turn out to be the same as one of our standard sizes.
As far as a “B” size battery goes, I found that it was used in old (read “antique”) tube type radios and was a 67.5 volt dry cell. I found this info while reading the history of radio development. I found an article by a gentleman who purchased a couple of old tabletop radios to gut, and seeing that they were still in good condition, he set out to refurbish the units. He improvised the “B” cell using a combo of 9volt batteries along with a computer battery of 4.5 volts.
As far as an “A” cell goes, still haven’t figured out what happened to that designation, if there ever was one.
I need an O size battery. Does ANYONE know what I’m talking about?
Hmm
Kids today just don’t know. There was an “A” battery of 1 1/2 volts for door bells, a “B” battery of 90 volts, and an “AB” battery of 9 volts and 90 volts combined, were for DC tube type radios.
Found this article on a torch (aka, flashlight) that takes AA, C, or D batteries. As they say, “only took them 100 years to figure that one out” ;)
http://www.gizmodo.com/archives/energizer-quick-switch-flashlight-021369.php