These little sources of power literally power the things that keep us moving and the things that get business done.
It’s safe to say batteries are all around us, powering most products we use to get by, every single day. Where would we be without them?
In fact, we believe batteries are part of our everyday lives just as much as the air that keeps us breathing.
From your toothbrush to your night radio, batteries are fundamental to our daily lives. And, chances are, the very mouse you are using to navigate across our fantastic website is powered by AA batteries.
Did you know, the ‘AA’ in our most famous batteries refers to its unique size dimensions? And did you also know that AA batteries are also sometimes referred to as ‘Mignon’ batteries, French for ‘adorable’ or ‘cute’.
When you drive home from work, it’s a battery that allows your vehicle to start as well as acting as a handy electrical reservoir of power.
And when we get home, we operate the TV using a battery-powered remote, and may even need to do some DIY. You’ll need a battery for those appliances, too. Come to think of it, it’s hard to imagine how we would get by without batteries. I don’t think we’d get very far at all.
And it isn’t just in our homes where batteries have become an integrated part of our daily lives. When we need to go to hospital, many of the advanced machinery is operated by intelligent batteries that provide reliable power – even when electricity is lost on the grid.
They can also be found inside aeroplanes, military equipment, and handheld devices such as our smartphones, digital cameras, and watches.
Batteries are everywhere.
We depend on their uses to make our lives that little bit better, safer, and enjoyable. But do we really know what they’re made of? And why they work?
What exactly are the components of a battery – what makes them ‘tick’?
We’re glad you asked. You’ll learn about the main components of a battery in this infographic from Battery Shop Sussex.
At its heart, the battery is a voltaic cell. Voltaic cells are electrochemical cells that rely on chemical reactions to produce electrical energy – the stuff that gets things going.
In these voltaic cells, we have anodes and cathodes at either end. These electrodes enable processes called oxidation and reduction to occur. And, in the middle of these cathodes is the salt bridge – an area of electrolytes that is crucial to complete the working circuit.
And boy, are electrolytes important to the whole thing.
In voltaic cells, the electrolyte is a conductive fluid that permits the flow of electricity between the two cathodes. That’s how important they are.
This also helps to explain those crazy videos you see when somebody is able to get a conductive charge from a lemon!
When you combine all the elements inside a battery together, you get a fully-functioning cell – the battery!