as I know that there are some double or triple A’s batteries that can be recharged and I know that there are some that are non rechargeable and can’t be but can someone please why? Like why if I was to put a non rechargeable double A battery in the device used to recharge a rechargeable double A battery why wouldn’t it work in simpler terms what makes rechargable batteries rechargable but non rechargeable ones not?
In: Technology
They’re made of different material.
A regular AA battery uses a zinc-carbon chemistry, which reacts zinc with manganese to create the charge. This reaction is non-reversible, and charging won’t replenish the zinc.
Rechargeable batteries use different chemistry, they typically use ions that gain charge when charging and lose it when discharging. That allows you to recharge the battery. This is more expensive, which is why not all batteries are rechargeable
If you put a non-rechargeable AA battery in a normal charger, most of the time the charger will detect that it is the wrong kind of battery and refuse to charge it.
But if it didn’t detect it, the “disposable” battery *can* be charged. I once even owned a charger for disposable batteries like this one: [https://www.ebay.com/itm/185997276608](https://www.ebay.com/itm/185997276608) . But it wasn’t a good idea and is heavily discouraged by battery manufacturers. The battery capacity degraded quickly and they often leaked when being recharged. There’s more information here if you are interested: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rechargeable_alkaline_battery#Recharging_of_disposable_alkalines](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rechargeable_alkaline_battery#Recharging_of_disposable_alkalines)
Why does it work this way? It’s more expensive to build a battery that’s rechargeable. It takes more durable and expensive materials. Everybody that builds “disposable” batteries could instead make them rechargeable, but they would be a lot more expensive and wouldn’t last as long on that first charge.
If ice melts you can turn it back to ice again by freezing it. That’s a bit like a rechargeable battery, it’s a reversible reaction.
If you boil an egg you can’t uncook it by freezing it. It’s a non reversible reaction.
Some things go one way, and some things can go both ways. It’s because of chemistry and physics.
Rechargeable and non rechargeable batteries are made of different things.
The real reason you can’t recharge nonrechargeable batteries comes down to chemistry. Normal Alkaline batteries contain a small amount of water inside of them; when you recharge the battery it has the side effect of chemically splitting the water into hydrogen gas and oxygen gas. This buildup of gasses inside the metal battery case can cause it to rupture and in severe cases catch fire.
Rechargeable batteries either use an electrolyte that doesn’t contain water, or have a catalyst that recombines the hydrogen and oxygen back into water. They need specialized chargers that control the charging rate so the gas doesn’t build up faster than it can be turned back into water.
Latest Answers