English

Relativity and the lead-acid battery

Materials Science 2015-05-19 v1

Abstract

The energies of the solid reactants in the lead-acid battery are calculated ab initio using two different basis sets at non-relativistic, scalar relativistic, and fully relativistic levels, and using several exchange-correlation potentials. The average calculated standard voltage is 2.13 V, compared with the experimental value of 2.11 V. All calculations agree in that 1.7-1.8 V of this standard voltage arise from relativistic effects, mainly from PbO2 but also from PbSO4.

Cite

@article{arxiv.1008.4872,
  title  = {Relativity and the lead-acid battery},
  author = {Rajeev Ahuja and Andreas Blomqvist and Peter Larsson and Pekka Pyykkö and Patryk Zaleski-Ejgierd},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1008.4872},
  year   = {2015}
}
R2 v1 2026-06-21T16:06:19.136Z