Batteries

1 definition found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Battery \Bat"ter*y\, n.; pl. {Batteries}. [F. batterie, fr.
     battre. See {Batter}, v. t.]
     1. The act of battering or beating.
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     2. (Law) The unlawful beating of another. It includes every


        willful, angry and violent, or negligent touching of
        another's person or clothes, or anything attached to his
        person or held by him.
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     3. (Mil.)
        (a) Any place where cannon or mortars are mounted, for
            attack or defense.
        (b) Two or more pieces of artillery in the field.
        (c) A company or division of artillery, including the
            gunners, guns, horses, and all equipments. In the
            United States, a battery of flying artillery consists
            usually of six guns.
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     {Barbette battery}. See {Barbette}.
  
     {Battery d'enfilade}, or {Enfilading battery}, one that
        sweeps the whole length of a line of troops or part of a
        work.
  
     {Battery en ['e]charpe}, one that plays obliquely.
  
     {Battery gun}, a gun capable of firing a number of shots
        simultaneously or successively without stopping to load.
        
  
     {Battery wagon}, a wagon employed to transport the tools and
        materials for repair of the carriages, etc., of the
        battery.
  
     {In battery}, projecting, as a gun, into an embrasure or over
        a parapet in readiness for firing.
  
     {Masked battery}, a battery artificially concealed until
        required to open upon the enemy.
  
     {Out of battery}, or {From battery}, withdrawn, as a gun, to
        a position for loading.
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     4. (Elec.)
        (a) A number of coated jars (Leyden jars) so connected
            that they may be charged and discharged
            simultaneously.
        (b) An apparatus for generating voltaic electricity.
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     Note: In the {trough battery}, copper and zinc plates,
           connected in pairs, divide the trough into cells, which
           are filled with an acid or oxidizing liquid; the effect
           is exhibited when wires connected with the two
           end-plates are brought together. In {Daniell's
           battery}, the metals are zinc and copper, the former in
           dilute sulphuric acid, or a solution of sulphate of
           zinc, the latter in a saturated solution of sulphate of
           copper. A modification of this is the common {gravity
           battery}, so called from the automatic action of the
           two fluids, which are separated by their specific
           gravities. In {Grove's battery}, platinum is the metal
           used with zinc; two fluids are used, one of them in a
           porous cell surrounded by the other. In {Bunsen's} or
           the {carbon battery}, the carbon of gas coke is
           substituted for the platinum of Grove's. In
           {Leclanch['e]'s battery}, the elements are zinc in a
           solution of ammonium chloride, and gas carbon
           surrounded with manganese dioxide in a porous cell. A
           {secondary battery} is a battery which usually has the
           two plates of the same kind, generally of lead, in
           dilute sulphuric acid, and which, when traversed by an
           electric current, becomes charged, and is then capable
           of giving a current of itself for a time, owing to
           chemical changes produced by the charging current. A
           {storage battery} is a kind of secondary battery used
           for accumulating and storing the energy of electrical
           charges or currents, usually by means of chemical work
           done by them; an accumulator.
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     5. A number of similar machines or devices in position; an
        apparatus consisting of a set of similar parts; as, a
        battery of boilers, of retorts, condensers, etc.
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     6. (Metallurgy) A series of stamps operated by one motive
        power, for crushing ores containing the precious metals.
        --Knight.
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     7. The box in which the stamps for crushing ore play up and
        down.
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     8. (Baseball) The pitcher and catcher together.
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