Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mphil-in-micro-and-nanotechnology-enterprise-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2020/paper-1/section-b/12/i/b/solution
Past exam of the MPhil in micro- and nanotechnology enterprise course of the University of Cambridge 2020 Paper 1 Section B 12 i b Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-20
A primary battery is intended for a single discharge; a secondary battery is designed for repeated electrical recharge through sufficiently reversible reactions. A microbattery is defined by its small dimensions or microfabricated construction, not by rechargeability. Therefore microbatteries can belong to either class. A thin-film Li-ion microbattery with reversible insertion electrodes is secondary because lithium can shuttle back and forth during discharge and charging; a miniature cell using irreversible primary chemistry remains primary. Small size alone does not justify assigning every microbattery to the secondary class.
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