How do batteries work?
In: Other
Batteries are a chemical reaction that creates electrical energy
Batteries have two pieces of metal (cathode and anode) and a solution in the middle with chemical reactions at both ends.
At the Cathode the solution reacts with the metal to pick up a negatively charged ion (bonus electron) and then at the Anode that negatively charged ion reacts with the Anode to turn over its electron to the anode and become neutral again but these two reactions leave the Anode with a lot of bonus electrons and the Cathode is missing a lot of electrons so there’s a voltage generated by the battery.
Normal batteries die when the solution can’t maintain the same reaction speed at one end or the other due to being all used up or the resulting product protecting the anode or cathode. In rechargable batteries we can apply a reverse voltage to the battery and force the reaction to reverse itself but only some reactions are reversible which is why only some batteries are rechargable.
Go watch the episode of breaking bad where they get stuck in the desert in the RV. Walter White will give you a personal lesson. In short though it is different kinds of metals exchanging electrons through an electrolyte.
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