BATTERY THEORYBatteriesBATTERY THEORYA battery converts chemical energy to electrical energy. This conversion enableselectrical power to be stored.EO 1.2 STATE the purpose of a battery.EO 1.3 DESCRIBE the operation of a simple voltaic cell.EO 1.4 STATE the chemical equation for the reactionthat occurs when a lead-acid battery is beingcharged or discharged.EO 1.5 EXPLAIN the relationship between specificgravity and state of charge of a lead-acid battery.BatteriesThe purpose of a battery is to store chemical energy and to convert this chemical energy intoelectrical energy when the need arises.As described in previous chapters, a chemical cell (or voltaic cell) consists of two electrodes ofdifferent types of metals or metallic compounds and an electrolyte solution which is capable ofconducting an electric current.A good example of a voltaic cell is one that contains zinc and copper electrodes. The zincelectrode contains an abundance of negatively charged atoms, and the copper electrode containsan abundance of positively charged atoms. When these electrodes are immersed in an electrolyte,chemical action begins. The zinc electrode will accumulate a much larger negative chargebecause it dissolves into the electrolyte. The atoms, which leave the zinc electrode, are positivelycharged and are attracted by the negatively charged ions of the electrolyte; the atoms repel thepositively charged ions of the electrolyte toward the copper electrode (Figure 2).ES-04 Page 4 Rev. 0
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