It’s Monday morning, and it began at midnight. Yes. The morning starts at midnight, though we call it the middle of the night. But my awake time is fluid and changes every day. Yesterday, 4 a.m., today? 5 a.m. There’s no rhyme or reason. Whenever the time arrives to wake, I wake and start my day.
After church and a bowl of soup for lunch, I napped for nearly an hour. It’s unusual for me to sleep so long, but that happened. I felt tapped. Drained. Even stressed, the nap helped me to unwind. Now, refreshed, it was time to accomplish more tasks.
I began to think about my youth – play and work hard all day long, fall into bed exhausted, and leap into a new day refreshed. Maybe my batteries are wearing out. Replacement time? Due for an Upgrade? Better charging system. Who knows?
This thought took me down the path of considering stored power. I have a series of short questions, quick answers, and realizing I don’t even understand battery technology. For nearly a hundred years, writers and thinkers have posited the thought that sufficiently advanced technology will only seem like magic to the masses. [Source]
Well, batteries have been in existence for over 200 years. Why do we still accept them without understanding them?
Question: Can you store up power with your overnight rest and be fully charged for the day? There are way too many answers to this question. The easy answer? It all depends.
How long does stored power last? There are variables. How well did you rest, and did you moderate your use of stored power. Or did you goose the gas pedal? Jack Rabbit starts and stops will drain your gas tank faster than you imagine. Smooth, slow, steady – that makes you go farther.
The harder you work, the more power you lose. Stress the load, and you drain much faster. My battery tools teach me this!
How long will any battery system last? Good question! How did you use your stored power? What is the style of battery in question? Have you maintained it properly to help it age gracefully?
Who came up with the idea of a battery? Quick research shows an Italian with the last name “Volt” became the first successful creator. When? In 1800. And for his creation, Napolean made him a Count. For over 200 years the battery keeps improving and becoming smaller!
Why do batteries come in so many shapes and sizes? I’m sure I don’t know. When we call batteries by size (A, AA, AAA, C, D, and was there ever a B?) and not by their voltage (9 Volt), I’m sure I cannot tell the reasoning behind their existence. Car batteries are huge, heavy, contain a liquid, and eventually wear out – but without them, you cannot start your car! Add the new rechargeable systems for vehicles that only operate on batteries; it only gets more confusing and expensive.
Did you know the earliest motorcars ran on battery power? In 1900, 1/3 of all cars sold were battery-powered vehicles! [Source]
This Morning
This Monday morning, I’m running on fumes. Yes, that’s a sign that you are out of fuel, and the wisps of vapors are the only thing keeping you conscious. But a quick thought burbled to the surface. Gasoline is “stored power” and you only need to diffuse it into a controlled chamber and ignite it to produce power to send you further down the road.
You will find a “capacitor” in most electrical and electronic equipment. It’s not a battery, but it acts like the storage bank of potential power.
Maybe that’s what I need—some storage of potential energy.
Question: How do you resolve your storage depletion moments? How often do you recharge your batteries? Your answer may help me.