Tuesday, September 24, 2013

What Are Batteries Made Of

What are Batteries Made Of?


What are Alkaline Batteries Made of?


The alkaline battery can take the square or cylindrical form that we all know so well. The contents are contained safely within a steel casing. The cathode, which is the negative part of the battery, is a compressed mixture of manganese dioxide paste and carbon powder. The center of the cathode is hollow and lines with a conductive separator to prevent the cathode and anode materials from mixing, but allowing their varying electrical potentials to pass from one to the other. The anode is the positive part of the battery and contained within the center of the cathode. It's a gel of potassium hydroxide and zinc powder.


What are Zinc-Carbon Batteries Made of?


The box or exterior of the Zinc-Carbon battery doubles as the anode, being made entirely of zinc. It contains a mixture of manganese dioxide and carbon powder as the cathode. The cathode floats within a solution of ammonium chloride and zinc chloride dissolved in water.


What are Nickel-Cadmium Batteries Made of?


Nickel-cadmium batteries are better known as NiCad or rechargeable batteries. They are made of two thin plates of nickel oxy-hydroxide and cadmium which are flattened together and rolled up into a cylinder shape. The nickel oxy-hydroxide acts as the anode, and the cadmium acts as the cathode. The catalyst is the electrolyte fluid which fills the battery, known as potassium hydroxide. This causes an electrical charge to build between the anode and the cathode.







Tags: Batteries Made, carbon powder, center cathode, manganese dioxide, mixture manganese, mixture manganese dioxide