How do the chemicals in a battery make the battery work?

Answer 1

Oxidation and reduction reactions generate a flow of electrons (electricity).
For example a lithium-nickel battery:
Li+ + e- ---> Li
Ni2+ + 2e- ----> Ni
Each reaction produces a certain number of volts. Whichever reaction produces the greatest number of volts will go in the direction (forwards or backwards) that produces that number of volts. The other reaction will go in the opposite direction so as to replenish electrons and keep the movement of electrons flowing between the two cells.

Answer 2

Batteries convert chemical energy into electricity. Batteries are made up of one or more separate sections, or cells, containing a chemical called an electrolyte.

Each cell has two electrically conductive electrodes immersed into its electrolyte. The electrodes are made of different materials; one releases electrons into the electrolyte, and the other absorbs them.

When an electrical device is connected to the electrodes, an electrical current flows through it and provides electric power for its operation.

Another answer

First we have to understand what a battery is made from. A battery consists of a number of separate cells. Each cell contains two different plates. The plates are held fixed and separated from each other. They are surrounded ("wetted" or "soaked") by a special chemical fluid or paste which conducts electricity.

One plate is called the "positive" ("+ve"), the other is called the "negative". ("-ve"). Every cell works because the plates react with the special chemical in such a way that an electrical current can be drawn off from the two terminals of the cell.

As current is drawn from the cell its plates - and the special chemical in which the plates are immersed - all gradually change their chemical composition. The result is that, as current is drawn off, the charge stored in the cell is reduced.

Another result is that the voltage given out by the cell drops. If nothing is done to replace the charge that has been taken from the cell then, eventually, a point is reached when no more charge can be taken out. That happens because the chemical composition of the plates and the special fluid can change no further. The cell is then called "flat" or "dead".

An even longer answer

"AA" and "AAA" are the international size references for two very popular kinds of cell. Size "AA" is bigger than size "AAA". These sizes are commonly used in flashlights, radios, MP3 players and personal amplifiers, etc. These cells each produce an output voltage of around 1.5 volts, direct current.

You can get them in two main kinds: "for-one-time-use" or "rechargeable".

To be able to explain how they work you will need to know what is inside them. If you have some knowledge of physics and chemistry that would come in handy too, but anyway here goes...

Any item with no moving parts which can produce a direct current flow of electricity is known as a "cell". Every cell contains two different plates. The plates are held fixed and separated from each other. They are placed in a special chemical fluid or paste which conducts electricity. One plate is called the "positive" ("+ve"), the other is called the "negative". ("-ve").

Each plate must be made of a different type of material to the other. The plates can then react with the special chemical in such a way that an electrical current can be drawn off from the cell. [It may be worth mentioning here that if both plates were made from the same material then no difference in voltage would be produced between them and no current could be taken from the cell. Nor could it be charged up.]

As current is drawn from the cell its plates - and the special chemical in which the plates are immersed - all gradually change their chemical composition. The result is that, as current is drawn off, the charge stored in the cell is reduced.

Another result is that the voltage given out by the cell drops. If nothing is done to replace the charge that has been taken from the cell then, eventually, a point is reached when no more charge can be taken out. That happens because the chemical composition of the plates and the special fluid can change no further. The cell is then called "flat" or "dead".

The actual types of materials used to make a cell determine the output voltage it produces. The physical size of a cell determines both 1) how much charge the cell can produce during its life and 2) how fast it can release that charge. (The bigger the cell, the higher is the total charge it can produce along with a higher charge release rate.)

There are lots of different types of AA and AAA cells. The name of the cell-type depends on the metallic elements and chemicals it contains. The name of the type of cell will normally be printed on the cell itself and/or on the packaging in which it is sold.

Common cell- type names are given to cells from the metals and chemicals used to build them, such as: "Zinc/Carbon", "Alkaline" (containing various elemental metals and/or metallic compounds), "NMH" (Nickel Metal Hydride), "Lithium Cobalt Oxide".

Many other sizes of cell are manufactured. Some sizes are available which produce a voltage that is not around 1.5 volts because they are made using different elements for the plates than the kinds used to make AA or AAA cells.

In general the output voltage depends on the materials which have been used to make the cell. Each lead-acid cell in a common car battery produces an output voltage of around 2 volts. Lithium cells produce around 3 volts.

Another short answer

For the invention of the battery we must thank the frog. In the 1780s the Italian physicist Luigi Galvani discovered a dead frog's leg would twitch when touched with two pieces of metal. Galvani had created a crude circuit.

The work was taken up by Professor Alessandro Volta. He created the Voltaic Pile, which is two discs: one made of zinc and one of copper, with a piece of cardboard soaked in brine between the two metal discs. This was the first "wet battery".

Answer 3

The voltage generated by a battery depends on the chemical reactions occurring at the electrodes of the battery.

Answer 4

Well Im no scientist but it may be just like rust on a car...?

Answer 5

my balls