(a) Compare constant current method and constant voltage method of charging batteries. (6)

(b) A 24V emergency battery is to be charged from the 110V ship's mains when the e.m.f. per cell has fallen to a minimum value of 1.8V. The battery consists of 12 cells in series, has a capacity of 100 Ahr at a 10 hr rate and the internal resistance is 0.03Ω/cell. If charging continues until the voltage per cell rises to 2.2V, find the value of the variable resistor needed to control the charging. The charging current can be assumed to be equal to the maximum allowable discharge current (10)