Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!cornell!uw-beaver!fluke!strong
From: strong@tc.fluke.COM (Norm Strong)
Newsgroups: sci.electronics
Subject: Re: Battery Sizes
Keywords: Battery, A cell, history
Message-ID: <6867@fluke.COM>
Date: 6 Feb 89 21:59:17 GMT
References: <7288@batcomputer.tn.cornell.edu>
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Organization: John Fluke Mfg. Co., Inc., Everett, WA
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In article <7288@batcomputer.tn.cornell.edu> garnett@tcgould.tn.cornell.edu (Roger Garnett) writes:
}
}		Electronics Trivia Question of the Day:
}	
}	"What ever happened to the original "A" size battery?
}
}	Battery sizes are specified by ansi standards, we are all familar with
}AA, AAA, C, D, and N sizes... But what was the A size? And, were there ever
}standard 1.5 V B size? (You can get B size in 4.5 and other voltages today.)
}Does anyone know who developed the sizes? (Union Carbide?)

Is this a quiz, or a question?  Assuming the latter, here is the answer:

The letters A and B were originally used to refer to the filament and plate
supply batteries of a radio.  In order to avoid confusion with these letters
that referred to use rather than size, the letters A & B were omitted.

-- 

Norm   (strong@tc.fluke.com)