Is it a matter of how strong the current is coming out of the battery? Is less power in the battery meaning “free space” in the battery and that’s what is measured?
In: Technology
You’re indirectly measuring how much of the energy storing chemicals inside the battery are left unreacted.
The most reliable method is usually counting how much charge goes in and out of the battery. Compare the two on an ongoing basis.
You can measure the voltage.
You can measure the voltage with a load applied.
You can measure how much voltage changes with a change in current.
You can measure how much heat is generated with a given charging current(I believe this was used to tell when NiCd cells were done charging).
These different methods can be more or less effective depending on the battery chemistry in question.
The battery is empty when any of the following conditions is met:
The battery falls below the voltage, current, or power delivery requirements of the device it’s powering. It may still be full enough to power some other device with different requirements, or if the temperature rises.
If it’s a rechargeable battery, when further discharge will cause damage to any of the cells, this is usually determined by a cutoff voltage.
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