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Battery power

Why has there never been an international standard requiring manufacturers to display the capacity of alkaline batteries? All we have to go on is words such as "super power" or "long life" on the packaging. I want a number!

Why has there never been an international standard requiring manufacturers to display the capacity of alkaline batteries?
All we have to go on is words such as “super power” or “long life” on the packaging. I want a number!

John Woodgate,Rayleigh, Essex, UK

There are international standards for batteries, which you can find on the public part of the International Electrotechnical Commission website. Look for the publications of its TC 21, SC 21A and TC 35 committees.

A battery’s capacity is measured as the current (in amps) it can provide for some amount of time, usually hours. While marking of the amp-hour capacity isn’t mandatory for all types of battery, you can get that information from manufacturer websites.

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