BATTERY TERMINOLOGYBatteriesSince the electrolyte of a lead-acid battery consists of a mixture of water and sulfuric acid, thespecific gravity of the electrolyte will fall between 1.000 and 1.835. Normally, the electrolytefor a battery is mixed such that the specific gravity is less than 1.350.Specific gravity is measured with aFigure 1 Simple Hydrometerhydrometer. A simple hydrometerconsists of a glass float inside a glasstube, as shown in Figure 1. Thehydrometer float is weighted at one endand sealed at both ends. A scalecalibrated in specific gravity is positionedlengthwise along the body of the float.The float is placed inside the glass tube,and the fluid to be tested is drawn intothe tube. As the fluid is drawn into thetube, the hydrometer float will sink to acertain level in the fluid. The extent towhich the hydrometer float protrudesabove the level of the fluid depends onthe specific gravity of the fluid. Thereading on the float scale at the surfaceof the fluid is the specific gravity of thefluid.Ampere-HourAn ampere-hour is defined as a currentof one ampere flowing for one hour. Ifyou multiply the current in amperes bythe time of flow in hours, the result is thetotal number of ampere-hours. Ampere-hours are normally used to indicate theamount of energy a storage battery candeliver.ES-04 Page 2 Rev. 0
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