Internal Resistance

Electrical Science Volume 2 of 4
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BATTERY OPERATIONS Batteries Internal Resistance Figure 9 Internal Resistance in a Chemical Cell Internal resistance in a chemical cell is due mainly to the resistance of the electrolyte between electrodes (Figure 9). Any current in the battery must flow through the internal resistance. The internal resistance is in series with the voltage of the battery, causing an internal voltage drop (Figure 10). With no current flow, the voltage drop is zero; thus, the full battery voltage is developed across the output terminals (V_B). If a load is placed on the battery, load resistance (R_L) is in series with internal resistance (R_i). When current flows in the circuit (I_L), the internal voltage drop (I_LR_i) drops the terminal voltage Figure 10 Internal Voltage Drop of the battery as shown in Equation (4-3). Thus, internal resistance reduces both the current and voltage available to the load. V_L = V_B - I_LR_i (4-3) ES-04 Page 12 Rev. 0

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