Jerry is correct about the AA lithium's voltage, but for a reason he may not realize. Nominally, a lithium cell has a voltage of 3 to 3.2V. That's what you get in a lithium button cell, and indeed in probably every cell size but AA. For AA, the makers faced a choice: Retain the 3V and sell the 3V cell together with a dummy cell (0 V), or use fancy electronics to step down the voltage to 1.5V. For liability reasons, I suspect, they chose the latter option. As I understand it, you still get the rated watt-hours, so in effect you get twice the amp-hours the 3V cell would have yielded, making lithium AAs especially attrative.
Incidentally, I am speaking of nonrechargeable AA cells. All rechargeable lithiums, I think, are about 3V. I feel obliged to clarify Jerry's second point: "Power usage is determined by the device, not by the battery as it will deliver only what the device requires..no more." The device draws the amperage it needs; it has no say over the voltage that pushes the amps along. Since power is V x A, the V is "pushed" while the amperage is "pulled." That's why, as a primary (nonrechargeable) cell's voltage drops, a flashlight's beam becomes increasingly yellow. I know the "push" side of voltage well, for as a child I used to enjoy making long flashlights that would burn out a PR13 6V bulb in a matter of seconds by feeding it, say, 9 or 12V. Today the makers of leading bicycle lights feed 13.2V into a 12V filament to yield more light. But they use extra-thick filaments and inert gas so the bulb doesn't burn out for hundreds of hours. Jerry in Houston wrote: Urban legend....AA's are AA's, they are all 1.5v and that is all your camera, or anything else using that battery, cares about. Where batteries differ is in amp hours which is a measure of how long they will deliver their voltage. [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------------------------------------------------- mail2web - Check your email from the web at http://mail2web.com/ . - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
