The first battery emerged in 1880, when Galvani touched a frog’s leg on a hook, with a metal rod. His pal Volta figured out the frog’s leg moved because the different metals reacted with each other. We share how this flash of inspiration influences how they make alkaline batteries today.
The Theory That Lead to Alkaline Batteries
Volta tested his theory by filling a bowl with salty water. He did not know it, but that would become the first battery electrolyte. Then Volta connected a zinc plate and a copper plate with a piece of wire, and placed them in the bowl.
Electric current flowed along the wire between the plates that were the world’s first battery electrodes. That’s just a simple summary of an experiment you could do at school, or in the kitchen at home. Let’s move on to sharing how they make alkaline batteries today.
How They Make Alkaline Cells Today
Alkaline battery cells in various shapes and sizes begin as empty steel casings. Then manufacturers insert rings of manganese dioxide that contact the steel casings. This completes the positive side of the battery.
Next, the battery maker inserts a thin layer of paper they soak in an electrolyte. This insulates the positive manganese dioxide electrode from the rest of the battery.
Then they fill the remainder of the alkaline battery with zinc paste that becomes the negative electrode. Finally, they position the battery cap, which connects to the zinc paste to complete the negative side of the battery.
That completes the picture of how they make alkaline batteries today. When we insert one of them into a device, we complete a circuit that connects the two sides of the battery, so the electricity can flow. Just like Galvani did with the frog’s leg electrolyte!
More Information
The Beginning of Batteries Dawns, Surprisingly
Alkaline Battery Chemistry and Capacity
