cells versus batteries

[TEG]

By the way when they say "the battery" are they talking about the entire ESS box? Terminology used to be that a battery was one of 6831 you could hold in your hand, but then they seemed to adjust to say that there are 6831 cells, and "the battery" is the assemblage of them all within the ESS (AKA "The battery pack").

Perhaps these are all "wrong" now:
2008 Tesla Roadster - Car News/Sports Car Central/High Performance/Hot Lists/Reviews/Car and Driver - Car And Driver

...Think of the pack as 6831 batteries...

Jeremy Clarkson Drives the Tesla | The Truth About Cars

...6831 batteries in the middle of the car...

2009 Tesla Roadster Part 3 of 3: Performance - OnCars

...Tesla carries a few hundred pounds more than an Elise due mainly to its 6831 batteries...

Even Tesla's own site is a tad sloppy about the term... There are many references to "the batteries" such as "How long do the batteries last?", "the Tesla Roadster is powered by Lithium ion (Li-ion) batteries", etc.

I guess it should be "the battery pack" versus "the cells", and the term batteries would only be for a bunch of packs when speaking of multiple roadsters at once. In other words, one should avoid ever saying "the batteries", but instead say "the battery packs"... (?)

 

[vfx]

Tesla is indeed using the term "battery" both ways. As said on another thread, any more than two cells in a box is a battery. The Steroid-ed AA cylindrical single cell is also called a battery, perhaps a technically incorrect term.

 

[TEG]

Google Fight : Make this fight with googleFight \"AA cell\" VS \"AA battery\"
Google Fight : Make this fight with googleFight \"18650 cell\" VS \"18650 battery\"


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battery_(electricity)

In electronics, a battery or voltaic cell is a combination of one or more electrochemical Galvanic cells...

 

[doug]

It's a semantic detail that's not worth getting concerned about. Perhaps it's due to the intersection of the colloquial and technical use of the term battery. All that really matters is that people understand what you mean and vice versa. Technically a battery is supposed to be a collection of cells, but common usage also includes a single cell in the definition.

If you had a device that ran off a single AAA cell, no one will be confused if you say you need to replace the battery.