Battery and electronics: energy and control
The battery supplies electrical energy. The coil, elsewhere in the system, turns it into heat. Separating those two functions avoids a common confusion: the battery is not the liquid reservoir, even when both are hidden within the same casing.
The Spanish Ministry of Health’s 2022 report describes an electrical section controlling the energy reaching the coil. In some formats, the word mod is used for that area of the device. The term does not establish that every device has identical circuits, protections or removable components.
In an explanatory drawing, one colour could mark the path of electricity and another the path of liquid. The two routes meet at the heating area. It is a way of reading the diagram, not an assembly plan.
Tank, cartridge and pod: where the liquid is held
Reservoir or tank describes the container. Cartridge often identifies a unit containing liquid that may incorporate other elements. The FDA distinguishes cartridges, tank systems and atomisers in its inventory of components. In other words, those terms do not necessarily describe separate parts in every model.
Pod appears in the commercial vocabulary of certain formats. When interpreting a description, check whether it means the cartridge or the entire device. The word alone does not specify ingredients, the presence of nicotine or which parts the unit contains.
Think of a photograph showing only two visible blocks. It does not establish that the device has just two components: one block may combine the container, heater and outlet. Counting external joins is not the same as counting internal functions.
Coil, wick and atomiser: three closely related names
The coil or heating element is the component that heats up when current passes through it. In English-language texts, it often appears as coil or heating coil. The National Academies’ 2018 glossary distinguishes that element from the wick, which carries liquid towards the heating area.
The wick may be an absorbent or porous material. Its function in the diagram is to transport liquid; it should not be confused with a filter that purifies the aerosol. Atomiser often covers the assembly involved in heating, including coil and wick, although commercial use of the names is not always uniform.
The distinction is like the relationship between a bulb and a lamp: one part belongs to an assembly, but naming one does not always mean naming the other. If two documents use atomiser with different scopes, the drawing and component description clarify more than translating the word in isolation.
Mouthpiece and airflow route
The mouthpiece is the outlet connecting the device to the mouth. It may also be called a drip tip. The FDA includes mouthpieces among these products’ components. Its external shape does not, on its own, reveal the parts behind it.
Airflow is another design detail: the European notification format explicitly asks whether it is variable. That describes a device characteristic. It is not an analysis of emitted substances or a safety classification. Air and aerosol need a route, but knowing it does not let us guess their composition.
Screens, lights and the meaning of a colour
A red or blue light may attract more attention than the rest of the device, but its meaning cannot be deduced from colour without identifying the model and checking its documentation. The same care applies to a screen: first establish which information it represents and in which unit.
The European format distinguishes characteristics such as battery, capacity, voltage, power and the presence of a microprocessor. These are separate fields. A figure from the electronics does not automatically describe ingredients or emissions. Nor is an illuminated light evidence that the assembly works correctly or is harmless.
A useful drawing keeps the distinctions
To remember the parts, associate each name with a verb: the battery supplies power, the tank contains, the wick carries liquid, the coil heats and the mouthpiece provides an outlet. Atomiser and cartridge can group several of those functions together. The precise arrangement varies between designs.
This vocabulary helps you understand a news story, technical diagram or description of an analysis. If a document discusses one particular part, you can now locate it without attributing the properties of the whole device to it. For a general explanation of the mechanism, our guide to what a vape is remains the starting point.
Take this with you
Identifying a part means knowing its function and whether its name describes a component or an assembly. The casing does not reveal the whole anatomy.
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