Alkaline battery
How does the battery function
The chemistry behind alkaline batteries is the reaction between zinc and manganese dioxide, which produces the power from the battery. Alkaline batteries have higher energy density and longer life-shelf when compared with traditional zinc-carbon batteries, while both the batteries produce 1.523 volts per cell. In the market of button cells, alkaline batteries often compete with silver-oxide batteries, which have a lower life and lower energy. The anode of an alkaline battery, which is the negative contact of the battery, is made out of zinc powder. The construction of the anode allows increased rate of reaction for its surface area, and this happens because of higher electron flow. The cathode of the battery, which is the positive contact, is made of manganese dioxide. You can locate the cathode by finding a bump on the contact.
Alkaline batteries have a high internal resistance, and unlike NiMH rechargeable batteries, alkaline batteries do not have any specification of nominal capacity. Due to the battery's high internal resistance, and its high thermal coefficient of resistivity, the faster you drain an alkaline battery, the energy is dissipated as heat. Therefore the capacity of an alkaline battery is fully dependant on its load, even at moderate load. In taking an example of an AA-sized alkaline battery, it would normally have a capacity of 3,000 mAh at low power. But the same battery when put through a load of 1,000 Ma, the capacity would run down to as little as 750 mAh. This is the reason why the nominal capacity of an alkaline battery is not mentioned when it is sold.
Leaks start to appear in alkaline batteries with long use. Leaking of potassium hydroxide, which is a very harmful caustic agent, causes respiratory problems, eye and skin irritation, and lot more. Batteries should not me mixed when running a device, and should be replaced in time, stored in a dry place, and most importantly should not be left inside the device while not running the device for a long time.
Alkaline batteries are mostly used in flashlights and personal stereos. This type of batteries is quite popular and is one of the three major dry primary cells that we use. The others are carbon-zinc, alkaline and mercury cells. A cell in a battery is the source of energy that forms out the chemistry of chemical components found in the cell. It has two electrodes, and it stops functioning when after the chemical reaction in the cells has reached a point of saturation. Zinc and manganese dioxide form the two electrodes of an alkaline battery, where zinc is the anode while the other is cathode. The cathode becomes negatively charged, while the anode is positively charged. The electrolyte of an alkaline battery is a strong alkali solution called potassium hydroxide, and this is the medium that is used for transporting the ion mechanism between the anode and cathode of a cell.
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