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oh dear. x
Posted: 01:52 Jun 22 2004
Motor
I've recently been taking things apart to make superhero equipment to help me save the innocent people of England. Anyway so Just wondered if anyone knew about motors and stuff. Got myself a nice little motor thing that is supposed to be powered by 2 'A' Batteries. Is it possible to hook it up so it can be powered by a single 'AA' battery? I know if this was possible it would be a lot weaker and slower, but can it be done or will I need more to power it?
(Edited by SPIKE 22/06/2004 01:37)
(Edited by SPIKE 22/06/2004 01:37)
11 Replies and 1345 Views in Total.
Darwin Awards?
Posted: 02:19 Jun 22 2004
a single 'AA' will only have half the volts of 2 'A'.
The motor might work but will only be half speed, if it has enough power to overcomne the initial resistance.
The motor might work but will only be half speed, if it has enough power to overcomne the initial resistance.
Posted: 08:07 Jun 22 2004 
It depends if the batteries are supposed to be in series or parallel. *tries to think back to GCSE Physics to make sure he gets it the right way round...*
If the 2 batteries are supposed to be in series (the positive terminal on one connected to the negative terminal of the other) then by just using one you'll only have half the voltage. It should still run but it'll be slower than normal.
If the 2 bateries are supposed to be in parallel (both positive terminals connected together and both negatives connected together) then you'll have the same voltage when you use just one, but it'll run down twice as fast.
I think that's right.
So to answer your question in a non-science geek kinda way (
), yeah it should run with just one battery, it'll just be either slower/weaker or will run down quicker. The easiest way to find out is to just try it...
If the 2 batteries are supposed to be in series (the positive terminal on one connected to the negative terminal of the other) then by just using one you'll only have half the voltage. It should still run but it'll be slower than normal.
If the 2 bateries are supposed to be in parallel (both positive terminals connected together and both negatives connected together) then you'll have the same voltage when you use just one, but it'll run down twice as fast.
I think that's right.
So to answer your question in a non-science geek kinda way (
), yeah it should run with just one battery, it'll just be either slower/weaker or will run down quicker. The easiest way to find out is to just try it...
Posted: 02:04 Jun 23 2004 
I've never heard of an "A" battery before - you sure you don't mean a "C" or "D"?
Anyways - "AA", "AAA", "C" & "D" batteries are all 1.5 volt.
It's the milliamp-hours for each battery type that varies.
The milliamp-hour rating means, theoretically, that the cell can produce a rated number of milliamps for one hour.
You can vary the milliamp-hour rating in lots of different ways.
A 500 milliamp-hour battery could produce 5 milliamps for 100 hours, or 10 milliamps for 50 hours, or 25 milliamps for 20 hours, or (theoretically) 500 milliamps for 1 hour, or even 1,000 milliamps for 30 minutes.
In theory if there is such a thing as an "A" battery, this too will be 1.5 volt.
An "AA" battery will have the same voltage but would last half as long...
.......this wouldn't be considered contributory negligence or something if Spike blows himself up will it?
(Edited by Wesley 23/06/2004 16:35)
Anyways - "AA", "AAA", "C" & "D" batteries are all 1.5 volt.
It's the milliamp-hours for each battery type that varies.
The milliamp-hour rating means, theoretically, that the cell can produce a rated number of milliamps for one hour.
You can vary the milliamp-hour rating in lots of different ways.
A 500 milliamp-hour battery could produce 5 milliamps for 100 hours, or 10 milliamps for 50 hours, or 25 milliamps for 20 hours, or (theoretically) 500 milliamps for 1 hour, or even 1,000 milliamps for 30 minutes.
In theory if there is such a thing as an "A" battery, this too will be 1.5 volt.
An "AA" battery will have the same voltage but would last half as long...
.......this wouldn't be considered contributory negligence or something if Spike blows himself up will it?
(Edited by Wesley 23/06/2004 16:35)
Posted: 16:33 Jun 23 2004
ok cheers guys, well i tried hooking up an AA to it, but othing happened, god knows why, I hope the motor isn't knackered, it came from an old He-Man toy so have not tried it out for like 15 years S
S
Posted: 20:38 Jun 23 2004
You can buy little motors for pence from places like Maplin etc. They will run from 1.5 volt batteries no problem at all.
Never seen an A battery either, but have got a few AAAA batteries.
Never seen an A battery either, but have got a few AAAA batteries.
Posted: 00:44 Jun 25 2004 More like helpful advice
by Wesley
.......this wouldn't be considered contributory negligence or something if Spike blows himself up will it?
(Edited by Wesley 23/06/2004 16:35)
Posted: 00:46 Jun 25 2004
I think you can actually get an 'A', you can certainly get 'F' but these are all industrial sizes with flat tops or solder tabs.
You're not going to do yourself any harm just experimenting with a few batteries anyway, as long as you dont use rechargables for your experiments. They can actually be dangerous if you short them out because they can provide massive amounts of current - you can certainly set things on fire
You can find motors to play with in all kinds of old junk like broken tape recorders and stuff. Seriously though if you're interested in that stuff you should have a play with some of that Lego Technic or Mindstorm stuff, should be a lot of fun.
You're not going to do yourself any harm just experimenting with a few batteries anyway, as long as you dont use rechargables for your experiments. They can actually be dangerous if you short them out because they can provide massive amounts of current - you can certainly set things on fire
You can find motors to play with in all kinds of old junk like broken tape recorders and stuff. Seriously though if you're interested in that stuff you should have a play with some of that Lego Technic or Mindstorm stuff, should be a lot of fun.
Posted: 11:55 Jun 25 2004
Cheers guys, I probablt did mean C battery. I'll have a gange in maplin to see what motors and other bits mgiht come in useful.
Posted: 14:37 Jun 25 2004 
