The 'electrical diffusion battery' is a new device for measuring aerosol size distributions with low size resolution but with a time resolution of a few seconds. The device consists of a diffusion charger, followed by a screen-type diffusion battery with electronically insulated stages. We present results and comparisons with SNIPS data from both laboratory experiments and from emission measurements of a diesel vehicle on a chassis dynamometer. A fairly good agreement between the two results is obtained. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.