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Topic: Why batteries work?  (Read 7025 times)

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Offline amentis

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Why batteries work?
« on: February 02, 2009, 03:35:16 AM »
I made a simple battery.As electrodes I used a copper plate and a zinc plate and as electrolyte I used tap water.
What happens with the electrodes and the electrolyte after a while?
And why does it work?


Offline Arkcon

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Re: Why batteries work?
« Reply #2 on: February 02, 2009, 06:18:01 AM »
Leave it running for a while, an compare the changes, you'll see significant differences, between a new battery, and a dead one.
Hey, I'm not judging.  I just like to shoot straight.  I'm a man of science.

Offline amentis

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Re: Why batteries work?
« Reply #3 on: February 02, 2009, 07:27:06 AM »
Thank you for your answers.

After the Zn lost electrons and Cu gained , can they gain/lose electrons in other processes like electrostatic induction to become as they were before the oxidation/reduction reaction?Or they become useless.

Offline Arkcon

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Re: Why batteries work?
« Reply #4 on: February 02, 2009, 08:23:22 AM »
Thank you for your answers.

After the Zn lost electrons and Cu gained , can they gain/lose electrons in other processes like electrostatic induction to become as they were before the oxidation/reduction reaction?Or they become useless.

So, you want to reverse the reaction, and want to know how?  What do we call a battery that has "run to completetion"?  And how do we "get it back to new"?  And what do we call that -- re--------?  And how's that done?
Hey, I'm not judging.  I just like to shoot straight.  I'm a man of science.

Offline amentis

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Re: Why batteries work?
« Reply #5 on: February 02, 2009, 09:21:04 AM »
I know how rechargeable batteries work.

I'm trying to understand how and why different combinations of chemical elements can give away electrons creating a flow of electricity and what happens to those elements after that.How those ionized element behave in other reactions or circumstances.

In my experimental battery , from what I know , Copper has 1 electron in it's last energy layer , Zinc has 2 , Hydrogen has 1 and Oxygen 6. I also don't understand how electrons are transferred from Zn to Cu  through a water molecule.An what happens to that water molecule in this process.

I also would like to know how the number of electrons can influence  the exchange of them between two different chemical elements.

I didn't went to a collage of chemistry so for me this is "uncharted
territory".I need this information for a project of mine regarding energy production.

I appreciate your time replying to my previous questions I hope you can share some of your knowledge or give me some guidance.Thanks!

Offline Arkcon

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Re: Why batteries work?
« Reply #6 on: February 02, 2009, 09:55:49 AM »
I know how rechargeable batteries work.

Great

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I'm trying to understand how and why different combinations of chemical elements can give away electrons creating a flow of electricity and what happens to those elements after that.How those ionized element behave in other reactions or circumstances.

Well, try to look at it this way.  If you droppped a bar of zinc, into a solution of copper ions, what would happen?  Can you describe that, as a balanced chemical reaction, and also as a pair of half reactions?

Quote
In my experimental battery , from what I know , Copper has 1 electron in it's last energy layer , Zinc has 2 , Hydrogen has 1 and Oxygen 6. I also don't understand how electrons are transferred from Zn to Cu  through a water molecule.An what happens to that water molecule in this process.

That, I'm not sure of.  But I don't think it has significance to the original question, as posted.

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I also would like to know how the number of electrons can influence  the exchange of them between two different chemical elements.

I'm not sure where you're going with that, but your half reactions should include the electrons, as a hint for you to figure it out.

Quote
I didn't went to a collage of chemistry so for me this is "uncharted
territory".I need this information for a project of mine regarding energy production.

I appreciate your time replying to my previous questions I hope you can share some of your knowledge or give me some guidance.Thanks!


I didnt realize that, as you first posted.  See, making a battery is a very common first experiment for beginning chemistry students, so I guessed you were trying to work out school problems.  Try the above links, and see if you can learn enough background to help you understand the whole process.
Hey, I'm not judging.  I just like to shoot straight.  I'm a man of science.

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