History of the battery

Batteries provided the main source of electricity before the development of electrical generators and electrical power grids around the end of the 19th century. Successive improvements in battery technology facilitated major electrical advances, from early scientific studies to the rise of telegraphs and telephones, and eventually leading to portable computers, mobile phones, electric cars, and many other electrical devices.

Scientists and engineers developed several commercially important types of battery. "Wet cells" were open containers that held liquid electrolyte and metallic electrodes. When the electrodes were completely consumed, the wet cell was renewed by replacing the electrodes and electrolyte. Open containers are unsuitable for mobile or portable use. Early electric cars used semi-sealed wet cells.

"Primary" batteries could produce current as soon as assembled, but once the active elements were consumed, they could not be electrically recharged. The development of the lead-acid battery and subsequent "secondary" or "rechargeable" types allowed energy to be restored to the cell, extending the life of permanently assembled cells.