Ask A Scientist© Chemistry Archive

name         Caroline L.
status       student
age          12

Question -   I was wondering what makes one battery better than the
other.  Is it the sealing or the chemicals or anything else?

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Caroline,

I suppose it is "all of the above." "Better" is in the eye of the end user.
Certainly one would prefer a battery with better sealing over one that might
leak and damage the device in which it was used. Also, one would prefer a
battery with a long life and constant output over one that was short lived
and unstable. So you see, your question cannot be answered exactly.

In my experience, I have discovered that of three brands, Radio Shack,
Duracell, and Eveready, one has proven better in my applications than the
other two. Your best bet is to purchase whatever kind suits your fancy and
then remove them from the device when it is not in use. Given enough time,
in my experience, all common brands will leak.

Regards,
ProfHoff
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