laneys.info Beware of Yankees, drunks, and loose women.

For some reason, I had a lot of trouble finding this information on the Internet, so I'm recreating it here.

The Eveready Battery Company (aka Energizer batteries) had this to say in 2001:
(http://data.energizer.com/PDFs/alkaline_appman.pdf)

Battery Testing
Measuring the open circuit voltage (OCV) of a battery to determine the amount of service life will yield a rough estimate. A more accurate method is to measure the closed circuit voltage (CCV) of the battery. This is accomplished by putting the battery under load for one to two seconds and measuring the CCV. If the battery voltage is greater than or equal to 1.1 volts, the battery has approximately 20% service left. The load is determined by the size and type of battery. In the case of a single cylindrical 1.5 volt Alkaline or Carbon Zinc battery, the load would be approximately 8 ohms. Otherwise, an OCV reading of 1.5 volts or greater for a single cylindrical 1.5 volt Alkaline or Carbon Zinc battery indicates essentially an undischarged battery or one that has been discharged less than 10%.