How a Battery Work

How Batteries Work



Imagine a world where everything that uses electricity to be attached to the power plug ( power jack ) . Flashlights , hearing aids , cell phones , and other portable devices connected to the plug , making complicated and cumbersome . Cables will be hung everywhere , dangerous and unsightly . Fortunately , our batteries provide portable power source that makes a lot of comfort in this modern era to be possible .

Although there are various types of batteries , the basic concept remains the same way batteries work . When the device is connected to a battery , a reaction occurs that produces electrical energy . This is known as an electrochemical reaction . Italian physicist , Count Alessandro Volta first discovered this process in 1799 when he created a simple battery of metal plates and cardboard or paper soaked salt water . Since then , based on the original design of the Volta , scientists have increased the creator of a battery made ​​from various materials that produce batteries in various sizes .



Today, batteries are all around us . Batteries provide energy for our watches for months at a time . The battery makes the phone alarm clock and we keep working , even if the power goes out . They run a smoke detector , electric shavers , electric drill , mp3 players , and others . If you are reading this article on a laptop or smartphone , you might even use a battery now ! However , due to very low power portable devices and commonly used , it is felt normal. This article will give you a greater appreciation for the battery to explore their history , as well as the base , reactions and processes that make them work ( how the battery ) .


Anatomy Batteries and How Batteries Work 

Look at each battery, and you will see that it has two terminals. One terminal is marked (+), or positive, while the other is marked (-), or negative. In ordinary flashlight batteries, such as AA, C or D cells, located at the end of the battery terminals. At the 9-volt battery, the terminal is located adjacent to each other at the top of the battery. If you connect a wire between the two terminals, the electrons will flow from the negative end to the positive end as quickly as they could. This will make the batteries run out quickly and can also be dangerous, especially on the battery with a greater power. To be able to utilize the electrical charge generated by a battery with more precise, you must connect it to a load. Expenses could be something like a light bulb, a motor or an electronic circuit like a radio.

The workings of the internal battery is usually located inside a metal box plastic. In this case, the cathode is connected to the positive terminal and a negative terminal connected to the anode. These components, more commonly known as the electrode, occupies most of the space inside the battery and this is where the chemical reaction occurs. A separation becomes a barrier between the cathode and anode, prevents the electrodes that are not touched while allowing the electrical charge to flow freely between them. Media that allows electrical charge to flow between the cathode and the anode is known as an electrolyte. In the end, the collector did charge out of the battery and through the load.


Battery Reactions and Chemistry

Much has happened in the battery when you put it in your flashlight , remote control , or other wireless devices . While the process by which they produce slightly different electric batteries for the battery , but the point remains the same .

When the load completes the circuit between the two terminals , the battery generates electricity through a series of electromagnetic reaction between the anode , cathode , and electrolyte . Anode undergo oxidation reaction in which two or more ions ( electrically charged atoms or molecules ) from joining the anode electrolyte , generating compound and release one or more electrons . At the same time , the cathode goes through the reduction reaction , wherein the cathode , ions and free electrons also combine to form compounds . Although these measures may sound complicated , it is actually very simple : create electrons at the anode reaction , and the reaction at the cathode to absorb them . The end result is electricity . The battery will continue to generate electricity until one or both of the electrodes run out of material that is needed for the reaction to occur .

Modern batteries use a variety of chemicals to power their reactions . Common chemical batteries including :


  • Zinc - carbon battery : zinc - carbon chemistry , commonly used in many inexpensive dry batteries such as AAA , AA , C and D. The anode is zinc , the cathode is manganese dioxide , and the electrolyte is ammonium chloride or zinc chloride .
  • Alkaline Batteries : This chemical is also commonly used in dry batteries AA , C , and D. The cathode consists of a mixture of manganese dioxide , while the anode is zinc powder . It gets its name from an electrolyte of potassium hydroxide , which is an alkaline substance ( alkaline ) .
  • Lithium - ion battery ( rechargeable ) : lithium chemicals often used in high-performance devices , such as mobile phones , digital cameras , and even electric cars . Various substances are used in lithium batteries , but a common combination of lithium cobalt oxide is the cathode and anode carbon .
  • Lead - acid batteries ( rechargeable ) : This is a chemical that is used in typical batteries such as car batteries . Electrodes are usually made ​​of lead dioxide and lead metal , while the electrolyte is a solution of sulfuric acid .


Recharging Batteries ( Rechargeable )

With the rise of portable devices such as laptops , cell phones , MP3 players , power tools and other cordless , rechargeable batteries need has grown substantially in recent years . Rechargeable batteries have been around since 1859 , when French physicist Gaston Plante found the lead acid cell . With a lead anode , lead dioxide cathode , and an electrolyte of sulfuric acid , battery Plante was the forerunner of today's car battery .

Non-rechargeable batteries , or primary cells and rechargeable batteries or secondary cells , produce a current in the same way : through an electrochemical reaction involving the anode , cathode , and electrolyte . In rechargeable batteries , the reaction is reversible . When electrical energy from an external source applied to the secondary cell , electrons flow negative to positive that occurs during discharge is reversed , and the charging of the cell is returned . Rechargeable batteries are the most common in the market today is the lithium - ion (Lion ) , although the nickel - metal hydride ( NiMH ) and nickel - cadmium ( NiCd ) batteries are also very common ever used .

In the case of rechargeable batteries , not all batteries are created equal . NiCd batteries including the first secondary cells are widely available, but they are having a difficult problem known as the memory effect . Basically , if the battery is not fully discharged each time they are used , they will quickly lose its capacity . NiCd batteries were largely abandoned because there NiMH batteries . Secondary cells boast higher capacity and only slightly affected by the memory effect , but they do not have a very good shelf life . Such as NiMH batteries , battery Lion has a long life, but they keep a better payload , operating at a higher voltage , and are available in packs much smaller and lighter . Basically, all of high quality portable technology produced these days take advantage of this technology . However , Lion battery is currently not available in standard sizes such as AAA , AA , C or D , and far more expensive than his colleagues first .

With NiMH and NiCd batteries , charging can be tricky . You have to be careful not to charge too much , as this can cause a decrease in capacity . To prevent this from happening , some chargers switch to a trickle charge or simply turn off the charging current when charging is complete . NiCd and NiMH batteries also should be reconditioned , means you occasionally have to actually do the emptying and filling again to minimize capacity loss . On the other hand , Lion battery , has a sophisticated charging that prevents overcharging and does not need to be reconditioned .

Even rechargeable batteries eventually will die , though it may take hundreds of times before recharging it happens . When they finally die completely , be sure to throw them in the recycling facility .