{"id":8,"date":"2006-12-26T16:28:56","date_gmt":"2006-12-26T16:28:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.batterymart.com\/battery-blog\/?p=8"},"modified":"2021-12-29T22:01:43","modified_gmt":"2021-12-29T22:01:43","slug":"how-a-battery-works","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.batterymart.com\/battery-blog\/how-a-battery-works\/","title":{"rendered":"How a Battery Works"},"content":{"rendered":"

To help illustrate how a battery works, let\u2019s begin by using a more simple battery like the alkaline. All batteries have a cathode<\/b> (positive) and an anode<\/b> (negative) portion of the battery.<\/p>\n

\"How<\/center><\/p>\n

The alkaline <\/b>cathode is a mixture of manganese dioxide, graphite and an electrolyte. This mixture is granulated, aged in storage and then compacted into hollow cylinders called preforms<\/b>. These preforms are inserted into a steel can. The steel can and mixture now become the cathode, or the positive charge of the alkaline. To keep the material from leaking, an indentation and sealant <\/b>are used.<\/p>\n

The cathode and anode can not come into contact. Therefore, a separator<\/b> is placed in between the cathode and anode. This separator is soaked with an electrolyte that aids in ionic or electrolytic conductivity once the battery is in use.<\/p>\n

The anode (negative) is made of mostly zinc powder and several other material. This is in the form of a gel.<\/b> This gel is inserted into the steel can against the separator. At this point, the battery could give off a charge. However, the battery would not be able to work for long because it is not sealed.<\/p>\n

The seal is made up of a brass nail<\/b> (the nail acts as the current collector), a plastic seal<\/b> and metal end cap<\/b>. The three items are inserted into the steel can against the indentation formed earlier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
What Is The Shelf Life Of A Battery?<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Silver Oxide:<\/td>\n2-3 years<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Alkaline:<\/td>\n4-5 years<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Lithium:<\/td>\n5-7 years<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
NiCad\/NiMh:<\/td>\nWill self-discharge 1% – 2% per day, but will fully recover after few charge cycles. Practical shelf life: 5 years.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Sealed Lead Acid (SLA):<\/td>\n1 year without charging. Charging every 90 days will extend shelf life to 1.5 – 2 years.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Automotive:<\/td>\n6 months without charging. Charging every 90 days will extend shelf life to 1 – 1.5 years.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

To help illustrate how a battery works, let\u2019s begin by using a more simple battery like the alkaline. All batteries have a cathode (positive) and an anode (negative) portion of the battery. The alkaline cathode is a mixture of manganese dioxide, graphite and an electrolyte. This mixture is granulated, aged in storage and then compacted […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-battery-mart-news"],"yoast_head":"\nHow a Battery Works - Battery Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"How a Battery Works - Battery Blog\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.batterymart.com\/battery-blog\/how-a-battery-works\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How a Battery Works - Battery Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"How a Battery Works - Battery Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blog.batterymart.com\/battery-blog\/how-a-battery-works\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Battery Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/batterymart\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2006-12-26T16:28:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-12-29T22:01:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Battery Mart\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Battery Mart\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.batterymart.com\\\/battery-blog\\\/how-a-battery-works\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.batterymart.com\\\/battery-blog\\\/how-a-battery-works\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Battery Mart\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.batterymart.com\\\/battery-blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/309060e985641f544e150eca8468366f\"},\"headline\":\"How a Battery Works\",\"datePublished\":\"2006-12-26T16:28:56+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-12-29T22:01:43+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.batterymart.com\\\/battery-blog\\\/how-a-battery-works\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":304,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.batterymart.com\\\/battery-blog\\\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Battery Mart News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.batterymart.com\\\/battery-blog\\\/how-a-battery-works\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.batterymart.com\\\/battery-blog\\\/how-a-battery-works\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.batterymart.com\\\/battery-blog\\\/how-a-battery-works\\\/\",\"name\":\"How a Battery Works - 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