Short for nickel-metal hydride and also abbreviated as Ni-MH, NiMH is a rechargeable battery used primarily in portable computers.

Research of the NiMH system started in the seventies as a means for hydrogen storage for a Nickel Hydrogen battery. The metal hydride alloys were unstable in the cell environment and the desired performance characteristics could not be achieved. As a result, the development of the NiMH slowed down. New hydride alloys were developed in the 1980s that were stable enough for use in a cell. Since the late eighties, the NiMH has steadily improved, mainly in terms of energy density. Design engineers have indicated that the NiMH has the potential of higher energy densities.

Battery terms, Computer abbreviations, Li-ion, NiCad

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