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by psychotikid on March 18th, 2006

psychotikid

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Batteries come in AAA, AA, C and D sizes. Why not B?

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Answers. 15 helpful answers below.

  • by RedJohn on March 18th, 2006

    RedJohn

    There is a 'B' size battery, but it is not used anymore. A number of battery sizes were standardized by ANSI (American National Standards Institute) in the early 20th century. Although a number of battery sizes were defined, industry has generally used fewer and fewer different designs over the years. When was the last time you bought an 'N' battery, for example? This helps reduce costs for the manufacturers, the retailers, and the end users. 'B' batteries only collect dust on the shelf today, along with the 'A', 'E', and many other battery sizes.

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  • by Sketchy Mess Jeoffory on November 30th, 2007

    Sketchy Mess Jeoffory

    There are. They just aren't used anymore. They used to be used for operating vacuum tubes back in the day.

    http://www.stupidquestionsanswered.com/answered/battery.htm

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  • by psych31mwo says call me Mark on June 4th, 2007

    psych31mwo says call me Mark

    There are B batteries, but they're pretty much obsolete nowadays. They were used for transistor radios of old, and were 45-90 volts. Quite a bit higher voltage than what we're used to for consumer electronics today.

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  • by NikonRob Goodbye on June 11th, 2007

    NikonRob Goodbye

    I found this on the internet. I guess this is what B batteries looked like.

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  • by Anonymous on May 13th, 2009

    Anonymous

    Check here:

    http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/494821

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  • by Cally4214 on May 13th, 2009

    Cally4214

    Before there were "chips", or even transistors, there were devices called vaccuum tubes which performed the same functions. In order to operate, tubes required two voltages: a low voltage to operate the "filament", or "heater", which generated heat necessary for the tube to operate, and a high voltage which actually did the work.

    The low voltage battery in portable radios was called the "A" battery. The high voltage battery was called the "B" battery.

    You can't find B batteries anymore because there is no need for them. So
    there you have it!...:)

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  • by JakobA I^_^I the alooney on May 13th, 2009

    JakobA I^_^I the alooney

    They exist, but your store just do not stock them (very few appliances use that size).

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  • by Hrududu on May 13th, 2009

    Hrududu

    There are B batteries, they just aren't used anymore.

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  • by ptrask on May 13th, 2009

    ptrask

    Or size A for that matter.

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  • by Penal Colony is wicked marrying Andy on August 20th, 2008

    Penal Colony is wicked marrying Andy

    Because it would be too awkward to say... it would sound like you just had a bad stutter. "Could I have some B-Batteries please?"

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  • by snowmachine88 on June 11th, 2007

    snowmachine88

    I have also see the use of B as a prefix before a series of numbers for camera batteries and watch batteries they just are not as common as some others.

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  • by tjtx41 on March 20th, 2006

    tjtx41

    To confuse things even more, batteries used to be given alphabetic labels to indicate their application. For example "B" batteries were long skinny things that put out 90 volts. They were used primarily for plate voltage in vacuum tube portable radios before the invention of the transistor made them obsolete. "A" batteries were 1.5 volts and used heat the filamets. There were also 67 1/2 volt batteries that were shorter and thicker than the 90 volt kind.

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  • by Anonymous on September 27th, 2007

    Anonymous

    I think they don't use them any more because it would sound like people are studdering!!!

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  • by RiverRat on May 13th, 2009

    RiverRat

    good question +4. this is what I found by googling..
    "B" size batteries were once relatively common. Old type "B" batteries were once used in tube type portable radios. There was also an "A" battery to power the tube filament. The "B" battery had a relatively high voltage - from 22.5 Volts to over 90 Volts. The "A" battery was a lower voltage battery 1.5 Volts to 9 Volts. You can still find these in antique shops.

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  • by aneezuddin on August 20th, 2008

    aneezuddin

    no need

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More Questions. Additional questions in this category.

You're reading Batteries come in AAA, AA, C and D sizes. Why not B? - which can also be phrased in the following ways:

  • Why are there no "B" batteries?

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