[ELI5] Why are battery capacities expressed in Ah (Amperes-hour) and what does it mean, for example, a AA battery that is 2500 mAh?
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Energy is electrons flowing through your devices. The amount of electrons flowing is shown in Amps.
You can think of electricity in a wire like water flowing in a hose. Amps is the water itself flowing through. Not many amps, you’re only getting a trickle, a lot of amps and you’re getting ready for a fun summer water fight.
Now add pressure (voltage) and you’ve got power. If a ton of water is rushing though your hose you’re going to have a whole lot more force than if you just let a little out at a time. For electronics, that power is expressed as Amps per hour (Ah).
So with a battery you’re not connected a “spicket” but instead a “jug” that you put in a bunch of electrons to use for later. But when you’re figuring out how useful the jug is, you don’t care how many electrons are in there, you care how long you can keep your flow going because it’s that flow that makes your phone or whatever work.
A battery rated for 10,000 mAh holds enough electrons to keep trickling out one milliamp for 10,000 hours. So if you have something that needs 1,000 mA to run, you will have enough to power it for 10 hours.
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