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memory effect
Last modified: Thursday, August 21, 2003
The property of nickel-cadmium (NiCad) batteries that causes them to lose their capacity for full recharging if they are discharged repeatedly the same amount and then recharged without overcharge before they have fully drained. The term derives from the fact that the battery appears to have a memory for the amount of charging it can sustain.
The effect was first noticed in aerospace applications and has been widely misused with regard to the batteries used in portable computer devices. The memory effect is very rare in computer NiCad batteries, especially modern ones.
