Thanks for the marvelous answer. But here is my followup: I leave the 2 batteries in my 540c in all the time while I am using the machine at home on the power adapter. The abtteries hardly ever discharge; in fact, I thought I was doing right by keeping them fully charged up. Do you mean, below, that I ought to take the batteries out when it is plugged in?
> This short question could lead to an infinitely long > answer. To keep it brief, I'll limit the discussion > to just rechargeable batteries. > > Rechargeable batteries work because their underlying > chemical reactions are nominally reversible. You > might think, then, that they should have a nearly > infinite lifetime. Unfortunately, the reversibility > applies only to the chemical reactions, and not > necessarily to the physical/mechanical changes that > accompany charge-discharge cycles. As you > discharge a cell, physical transport of material > generally takes place. Recharging generally moves > the stuff back, but not necessarily to their exact, > original locations. So, you might build up peaks and > valleys over time. Eventually, some of those peaks > can puncture insulation and cause shorts, or the > valleys can effectively create regions of high > resistance (or even open circuits). A constant > challenge of battery designers is to minimize these > sorts of consequences. __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? U2 on LAUNCH - Exclusive greatest hits videos http://launch.yahoo.com/u2 -- PowerBooks is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Enter To Win A | -- Canon PowerShot Digital Cameras start at $299 | Free iBook! | Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> PowerBooks list info: <http://lowendmac.com/lists/powerbooks.shtml> --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; Send list messages to: <mailto:powerbooks@;mail.maclaunch.com> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:powerbooks-off@;mail.maclaunch.com> For digest mode, email: <mailto:powerbooks-digest@;mail.maclaunch.com> Subscription questions: <mailto:listmom@;lowendmac.com> Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/powerbooks%40mail.maclaunch.com/> --------------------------------------------------------------- >The Think Different Store http://www.ThinkDifferentStore.com ---------------------------------------------------------------
