Batteries

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Last updated: March 30, 2007.

W e can't always generate electricity where and when it is needed so

batteries, devices that store electrical energy in chemical form, are very
important. Many different types of batteries are produced for a wide variety of
applications, from storing solar power for satellites in space to powering heart
pacemakers fitted inside people's chests.

You might think a battery looks just about as dull as anything you've ever seen. But
the minute you hook it up to something, it starts buzzing with electricity. That dull
little cylinder turns into your very own micro power plant! Let's see what's going on
in there...

Photo: Disposable batteries like this one are really convenient, but they can be expensive in the long
haul and they're bad for the environment. A better option is to use rechargeable batteries. They cost
more to begin with, but you can charge them hundreds of times—so they save an absolute fortune and
help save the planet!

The parts of a battery

All batteries contain one or more cells, but people often use the terms battery and
interchangeably. A cell is just the working chemical unit inside a battery; one
battery can contain any number of cells. A cell has three main parts: a positive
electrode (terminal), a negative electrode, and a liquid or solid separating them
called the electrolyte. When a battery is connected to an electric circuit, a
chemical reaction takes place in the electrolyte causing ions (in this case, atoms
with a positive electrical charge) to flow through it one way, with electrons
(particles with a negative charge) flowing the other way. This movement of electric
charge makes an electric current flow through the cell and through the circuit it is
connected to. That's the theory anyway. Now let's look at it in practice.

So how does a battery really make

power?
Here's my battery hooked up to a flashlight bulb to make a simple circuit. I've
unwrapped a paperclip to make a piece of connecting wire and I'm holding that
between the bottom of the battery and the side of the bulb. If you look closely, you
can see the bulb is shining. That's because electrons are marching through it!

Now here's what's going on inside. The positive terminal (shown just above my left
thumb in the photo and coloured red in the artwork below) is mostly hidden inside
the battery. We call this the cathode or positive electrode. The outer case and the
bottom of the battery make up the negative terminal, which is the anode or
negative electrode, and is coloured green in the artwork. The paperclip wire is
represented in the art by the blue line.
Let's quickly clear up one point of confusion. At school, you may have heard that
the cathode is the negative electrode and the anode the positive electrode.
However, that applies only to electrolysis (passing electricity through a chemical
to split it up). Batteries work in exactly the opposite way to electrolysis (they split
up chemicals to make electricity) so the terms anode and cathode are switched
around. Okay? To avoid confusion, I suggest it's best not to use the terms anode
and cathode at all. Better to say positive terminal and negative terminal and then
it's always clear what you mean, whether you're talking about batteries or
electrolysis.

Now back to our battery. The positive and negative electrodes are separated by
the chemical electrolyte, which is shown in the mottled blue pattern. It can be a
liquid, but in an ordinary battery it is more likely to be a dry powder.

When you connect the battery to a flashlight bulb (the yellow blob), and switch on,
electrons flow from the positive electrode through the electrolyte to the negative
electrode. Their path is shown by the thin red arrows. At the same time, positive
ions flow from the negative electrode through the electrolyte to the positive
electrode. Once the electrons arrive at the negative electrode, they keep on
flowing around the outside circuit (blue line) and make the flashlight bulb light up.

The electrons and ions flow because of chemical reactions happening inside the
battery. The exact reactions that happen depend on the materials from which the
electrodes and electrolyte are made. As the battery generates power, the
chemicals inside the battery are gradually converted into different chemicals.
Their ability to generate power dwindles and the battery eventually runs flat.

Types of batteries
Although there are lots of different kinds of batteries, there are really only two
types: disposable and rechargeable. They contain two different kinds of cells.
Primary cells make the power in ordinary, disposable batteries. They produce
electricity by slowly using up the chemicals from which the electrodes and
electrolyte are made. Secondary cells power rechargeable batteries. You can find
them in the big lead-acid batteries that start cars and the nickel-cadmium (NiCd or
"nicad") batteries that power cellular phones. Unlike primary cells, secondary cells
can be recharged simply by passing a current through them in the reverse
direction to normal. When you charge your cellphone, you are really just running
the battery (and the chemical reactions inside it) in reverse.

Examples of disposable batteries (primary cells)

Zinc-chloride batteries

In a zinc-chloride long-life battery, the positive electrode is made from a carbon

rod surrounded by a mixture of powdered carbon and manganese dioxide, the
negative electrode is made from a zinc alloy, and the electrolyte between them is a
jelly of ammonium chloride. The whole battery may be sealed inside a metal or
plastic case and, because there is no liquid that can be spilled, it is often referred
to as a dry cell.

Alkaline batteries

Inside an alkaline battery, manganese dioxide molecules are converted into

manganese oxide and hydroxyl ions. The hydroxyl ions then react with zinc to form
zinc oxide and water, releasing electrons. The electrons move toward the carbon
rod and flow out around the circuit, producing an electric current. The battery
stops producing electricity when all the manganese dioxide is used up.

Button cells

Button cells are used inside calculators and watches (and you find really tiny ones
in hearing aids). The top of the cell is the negative electrode, made from powdered
zinc trapped between two metal layers. The bottom of the cell and the case make
up the positive electrode, made from mercury oxide and graphite. In between the
electrodes is an alkaline electrolyte of potassium hydroxide. During operation, the
zinc loses electrons to become zinc oxide and the mercury oxide changes to
mercury metal.
Examples of rechargeable batteries (secondary cells)
Nickel cadmium (NiCd) and nickel metal hydride (NiMH) batteries

Until recently, virtually all rechargeable batteries were nickel-cadmium (NiCd,

usually pronounced "nicad"). Although very dependable, they need to be
discharged fully before you charge them up or the amount of charge they will store
(and their effective lifespan) can be greatly reduced. Nickel metal hydride work in
a similar way, but suffer less from the memory effect. Another problem with NiCd
batteries is the toxic cadmium metal they contain. If they are buried in a landfill,
instead of properly recycled the cadmium can escape into the soil and could
potentially pollute watercourses nearby.

Lithium-ion batteries

Lithium is a lightweight metal that easily forms ions, so it is excellent for making
batteries. The latest lithium-ion batteries can store about twice as much energy as
traditional NiCd rechargeables, work at higher voltages, and are more
environmentally friendly, but do not last as long. There are probably lithium-ion
batteries in your cellphone, MP3 player, and laptop computer.

How do they work? When you plug a cellphone or laptop into the power supply, the
lithium-ion battery inside starts buzzing with chemical activity. The battery's job is
to store as much electricity as possible, as fast as possible. It does this through a
chemical reaction that shunts lithium ions (lithium atoms that have lost an
electron to become positively charged) from one part of the battery to another.
When you unplug the power and use your laptop or phone, the battery switches
into reverse: the ions move the opposite way and the battery gradually loses its
charge. Lithium-ion batteries also have special electronic circuits that can
interrupt charging and discharging. These switch off the power to prevent
overcharging and overheating and to prevent too much discharging, which makes
the battery unstable and harder to charge up again.

Accumulators

Accumulators are most familiar to us as large, powerful car batteries. A lead-acid

accumulator contains three or six separate cells inside a tough plastic casing.
Each cell contains lead electrodes and an electrolyte of sulfuric acid and water.
During operation, the sulfuric acid is gradually turned into water, the lead
electrodes are converted into lead sulfate, and the battery becomes unable to
supply more charge. But unlike a dry cell, it can be recharged simply by passing a
current through it in the opposite direction.

How do fuel cells differ from batteries?

Photo of a bus powered by fuel cells. The fuel cells are just inside the open door on the right. Picture
courtesy of NASA Dryden Flight Research Center.

Unlike a battery, which gradually loses its ability to make electricity from the
chemicals inside it, a fuel cell converts chemicals into electricity from a
continuous supply of fuel outside it. Like a battery, a fuel cell has positive and
negative electrodes and an electrolyte in between.

Because fuel cells are at least twice as efficient as internal combustion (gasoline
and diesel) engines and produce nothing more polluting than water, they are
expected to be used inside environmentally friendly electric cars in the future.
Fuel cells are already used to generate power inside unmanned space probes and
the Space Shuttle.

Inside a fuel cell

A fuel cell has a fuel electrode and an oxygen electrode. As it passes over the
negative fuel electrode, hydrogen turns into hydrogen ions and electrons. The
electrons move through the circuit to the positive oxygen electrode, while the ions
move through the electrolyte. At the oxygen electrode, electrons combine with
hydrogen ions and oxygen gas to make water.
You can read much more in our main article on fuel cells.

Further reading

Websites
 Energizer Learning Center: How batteries work: Includes an animated guide.

Books