Energy in a Cell.—A battery is made up of a number of these cells. Each cell has a certain electric energy, usually from one and a half to one and three-quarter volts, and from twenty-five to forty amperes.
The amperage of a cell depends on its size, or rather by the area of the electrodes; but the voltage is a constant one, and is not increased by the change, formation, or size of the electrodes.
For this reason the cells are used in groups, forming, as stated, a battery, and to get efficient results, various methods of connecting them up are employed.
Wiring Methods.—As at least six cells are required to operate a coil, the following diagrams will show that number to illustrate the different types of connections.
Series Connection.—The six cells, [Fig. 35], show the carbon electrodes A, of one cell, connected by means of a wire B with the zinc electrode wing C of the next cell, and so on, the cell at one end having a terminal wire D connected with the zinc, and the cell at the other end a wire E connected with the carbon electrode.
The current, therefore, flows directly through the six cells, and the pressure between the terminal wires D, E, is equal to the combined pressure of the six cells, namely, 11/2 × 6, which is equal to 9 volts. The amperage, however, is that of one cell, which, in these diagrams, will be assumed to be 25.