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Power supplies consisting of a set of electrochemical cells designed to store chemical energy and release it in the form of electrical power; the cells are usually connected in series. Single electrochemical cells used as electric power sources are also commonly called batteries. Every cell, regardless of its chemical composition, consists of a negative electrode, a positive electrode, an ionic conducting material (electrolyte), a separator to electrically isolate the electrodes, and a case; the electric current flows externally from the positive to the negative electrode . Batteries are usually described by some characteristic of their chemical composition (e.g., nickel-cadmium, zinc-carbon, lithium); they may be nonrechargeable (i.e., a primary battery) or rechargeable (i.e., a secondary battery). Batteries are mostly used in the field of medicine as power supplies for implantable medical devices (e.g., pacemakers, neural stimulators) and external medical instruments (e.g., defibrillators, pacemaker programmers), for backup power for programmable devices that must retain electronic information, and in portable or other medical devices when it is not possible or convenient to use the line supply.
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