How battery works

We can see the battery everywhere in our life. A battery is essentially a can full of chemicals that produce electrons. Chemical reactions that produce electrons are called electrochemical reactions. In this article, you'll learn all about batteries.

As we all know that the battery has two terminals. One terminal is positive, while the other is negative. In an AA, C or D cell, the ends of the battery are the terminals. In a large car battery has two heavy lead posts that act as the terminals.

Electrons collect on the negative terminal of the battery. If you connect a wire between the negative and positive terminals will flow from the negative to the positive terminal as fast as they can. Normally, you connect some type of load to the battery using the wire. The load might be something like a light bulb, a motor or an electronic circuit like a radio.

A chemical reaction produces the electrons. The speed of electron production by this chemical reaction controls how many electrons can flow between the terminals. Electrons flow from the battery into a wire, and must travel from the negative to the positive terminal for the chemical reaction to take place.

That is why a battery can sit on a shelf for a year and still have plenty of power -- unless electrons are flowing from the negative to the positive terminal, the chemical reaction does not take place. Once you connect a wire, the reaction starts.

When we know how the laptop battery works, we can use it in more proper way.