On 1/15/2010 8:51 AM, Michael J. Coslo wrote:

I've been trying to find things like internal resistance and current
capacity on those things, but mostly DIY articles show up. Anyone know
any web based sources of that info?

This is from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History...e_Voltaic_Pile

"Another problem with Volta's batteries was short battery life (an
hour's worth at best), which was caused by two phenomena. The first was
that the current produced electrolysed the electrolyte solution,
resulting in a film of hydrogen bubbles forming on the copper, which
steadily increased the internal resistance of the battery (This effect,
called polarization, is counteracted in modern cells by additional
measures). The other was a phenomenon called local action, wherein
minute short-circuits would form around impurities in the zinc, causing
the zinc to degrade."

HTH.

Bill, W1AC
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