You Can’t Just Link Batteries Willy Nilly and Expect Everything to Be OK - podcast episode cover

You Can’t Just Link Batteries Willy Nilly and Expect Everything to Be OK

Nov 18, 20166 min
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Episode description

Anyone who has taken introductory physics will recognize this famous question: Why can't you start your car with 8 AAA batteries instead of one 12 volt car battery? Eight AAA batteries do add up to 12 volts, but they still can't provide enough electrical current to run the starter motor. But that's not the whole story. Any battery has a limit on the maximum current it can produce. To explain why, I'll make a model to represent a real battery.

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