if car battery diagrams show electron flow from negative to positive, why are you able to charge a car battery by connecting to the positive terminal only? Shouldn’t we be adding “potential energy” back into the negative side?
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The wiring usually suggested is positive to positive, and live negative to bare metal on the dead car. Th negative terminal is supposed to be connected to this metal, so you are still making a complete circuit (using the car as a bit of wiring)
You can just connect negative to negative and it will work. The idea behind connecting to car instead of battery is that the battery can create and release hydrogen gas while charging (particularly if it is damaged). Disconnecting a wire from a live circuit can create a spark; connecting negative to car means the potential spark and the potential hydrogen gas are not at the same place.
The wiring usually suggested is positive to positive, and live negative to bare metal on the dead car. Th negative terminal is supposed to be connected to this metal, so you are still making a complete circuit (using the car as a bit of wiring)
You can just connect negative to negative and it will work. The idea behind connecting to car instead of battery is that the battery can create and release hydrogen gas while charging (particularly if it is damaged). Disconnecting a wire from a live circuit can create a spark; connecting negative to car means the potential spark and the potential hydrogen gas are not at the same place.
You need electrons to flow in one side and out the other. Batteries do not hold electrons – they move them. A battery always holds the same number of electrons.
The car battery moves electrons in one direction, to charge it you must move them in the other direction. You need to connect to *both* terminals either way.
When you connect negative to “ground”, you connect it to the car’s frame, which is connected to the other battery’s negative terminal. You *are* connecting to the negative terminal, just indirectly.
You need electrons to flow in one side and out the other. Batteries do not hold electrons – they move them. A battery always holds the same number of electrons.
The car battery moves electrons in one direction, to charge it you must move them in the other direction. You need to connect to *both* terminals either way.
When you connect negative to “ground”, you connect it to the car’s frame, which is connected to the other battery’s negative terminal. You *are* connecting to the negative terminal, just indirectly.
The negative terminal is wired to the frame of the car. As long as you connect the black lead to something metal (that’s not the red positive terminal) it’s the same as connecting it to the black.
The negative terminal is wired to the frame of the car. As long as you connect the black lead to something metal (that’s not the red positive terminal) it’s the same as connecting it to the black.
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