![]() ![]() Meanwhile, at the positive terminal, the cathode accepts electrons, completing the circuit for the flow of electrons. More specifically: during a discharge of electricity, the chemical on the anode releases electrons to the negative terminal and ions in the electrolyte through what’s called an oxidation reaction. When a device is connected to a battery - a light bulb or an electric circuit - chemical reactions occur on the electrodes that create a flow of electrical energy to the device. The electrolyte is a chemical medium that allows the flow of electrical charge between the cathode and anode. There are three main components of a battery: two terminals made of different chemicals (typically metals), the anode and the cathode and the electrolyte, which separates these terminals. “You cannot catch and store electricity, but you can store electrical energy in the chemicals inside a battery.” “A battery is a device that is able to store electrical energy in the form of chemical energy, and convert that energy into electricity,” says Antoine Allanore, a postdoctoral associate at MIT’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering. ![]() ![]() There are a lot of different kinds of batteries, but they all function based on the same underlying concept. Your watch, laptop, and laser-pointer are all powered by the same thing: chemistry… By Mary Bates
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