Our ability to temporarily store renewable energy may make or break the potential to slow global warming, and bring it to a halt. We have two immediate options available. These are batteries such we produce, and storing energy in solids, liquids and gases. Today we refresh our memory about how conventional storage batteries work.
How Conventional Storage Batteries Work at Atomic Level
But first we need to delve down to atomic level to understand the chemical reaction that occurs inside batteries. That’s because every atom has a nucleus of positive protons, and neutral neutrons surrounded by a host of negative electrons.
Those electrons are free agents that can freely move between atoms. And they are a force we can harness to create electricity, heat, light and so on.
- A battery contains a substance we call an anode, able to release and deliver electrons.
- But it also contains a second substance we call a cathode, able to accept these electrons.
- The electrons travel between these substances via a circuit in a device, thereby electrifying it.
For Every Action There is a Corresponding Counter Action
However, for a conventional storage battery to work, there must also be a corresponding movement of positive ions between the anode and the cathode. This is one of the basic principles of science that keeps our universe in balance.
But in this instance the positive ions don’t use the bridge through the connected device. Instead, they travel through a third substance we call the electrolyte inside the battery. This is how electrochemical cells work in a nutshell, although we gloss over the details.
The different types of storage batteries we encounter vary in terms of the substances they use to achieve their electrochemical reactions. However, at the end of the day they all have anodes, cathodes, and electrolytes. Simple yes, yet complex indeed.
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