TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - INSTRUMENTATION AND TESTING - Preferred Components: The temperature monitoring circuit determines or monitors a temperature of the cell when the cell is not charging or discharging. The integrated circuit further comprises: a circuit for determining an open circuit state of the cell to provide an indication to the voltage monitoring circuit to measure an open circuit voltage of the cell when the cell is present in an open circuit voltage state, to provide an indication to one of the voltage monitoring circuit, the temperature monitoring circuit and the current monitoring circuit to stop measuring the open circuit voltage, the temperature or the current of the cell after a preselected time period and to provide an indication to the voltage monitoring circuit, the temperature monitoring circuit and the current monitoring circuit to measure or re-measure the open circuit voltage, the temperature or the current of the cell after a preselected time period; and a power switching circuit. The change in free energy is determined by measuring the open circuit voltage of the cell. The change in enthalpy is determined by measuring the open circuit voltage of the cell at the set of temperatures and by computing a slope of a linear regression of open circuit voltage measurements versus temperature measurements and by computing an intercept of the linear regression of open circuit voltage measurements versus temperature measurements. The integrated circuit further comprises a calculating circuit for determining a state of charge of the cell and for receiving current measurements from the current monitoring circuit and thermodynamic parameters from the thermodynamic parameter determining circuit. The calculating circuit determines Coulometric state of charge of the cell based on the received current measurements and determines a true state of charge of the cell based on the received thermodynamic parameters using a look-up table. The integrated circuit monitors the cell as the cell is charged under controlled conditions and updates entries in the look-up table, where the look-up table includes entries of states of charge of the cell, open circuit voltages and thermodynamic parameters of the cell. The thermodynamic parameter determining circuit further determines a state of health of the cell, a state of safety of the cell and a cycle number of the cell. The device determines entropy, a change in entropy, a temperature or a differential entropy of the cell, compares the entropy, the change in entropy, the temperature or differential entropy of the electrochemical cell with a reference entropy, reference change in entropy, a reference temperature or a reference differential entropy, and disables charging or discharging the electrochemical cell when the determined entropy, change in entropy, temperature or differential entropy is different from the reference entropy, reference change in entropy, reference temperature or reference differential entropy.