To the delight of taxpayers, scientists sometimes come up with the idea of doing research that not only gets published in scientific journals, but may have long-term prospects for useful applications. Sometimes their research can be tested in practice, and the conclusions can bring real benefits in everyday life.
For example - in how to extend the life of conventional AA batteries. So, in April, "Gazeta.Ru" about scientists from who decided to find out whether it is really possible to judge whether they are discharged by the rebound of finger batteries from a solid surface.
After conducting full-scale experiments, scientists have proved that dead batteries, on average, bounce higher than unused ones.
Now, American materials scientists from the California Institute of Technology set out to find out a little more - what happens in batteries used in everyday life and how to prevent their failure.
The battery accumulator consists of a positive and a negative electrode - a cathode and an anode. And during the operation of the source, electrons move from the anode through the energy consumer to the cathode.
Losing electrons, current carriers, some atoms on the anode (made, for example, of lithium), become positively charged ions and move towards the cathode through a conductive liquid called electrolyte.
Each time we recharge the battery, we reverse this process and positively charged ions move back to the anode, but are deposited unevenly on it.
The study showed that, when deposited, they form microscopic tree-like growths called dendrites.
When these dendrites become so long that they reach and touch the opposite cathode, a short circuit occurs. In this case, the electric current does not flow along the outer circuit, but along these dendrites, which brings the death of the battery closer.
Moreover, the current flowing through the dendrites heats them up, and since electrolytes are flammable, this can cause the cell to ignite. But even if these processes are small and do not cause short circuit, they can completely detach from the anode and float in the electrolyte. In this case, the anode simply loses its material, and the battery can no longer store enough energy.
“Dendrites are dangerous, they reduce the capacity of rechargeable batteries,” says Asghar Aryanfar, lead researcher at Caltech. Boris Merinov, a specialist in materials science, a native of Russia, also took part in the study. To try to get rid of harmful growths, scientists heated the elements to 55 degrees Celsius for two days.
It turned out that such heating led to a decrease in build-up by 36%.
And to understand exactly how these formations are destroyed under the action of high temperature, computer modeling helped material scientists. To do this, they traced individual atoms in a model of a dendrite, which has the shape of an ordinary pyramid.
Simulations have shown that heating leads to the fact that, firstly, the atoms at the top of the pyramid slide down and, secondly, the atoms at the lower levels can leave the growth altogether and another metal atom falls in its place. Thus, the atoms that make up the dendrite mix and tremble, which ultimately leads to its destruction.
By being able to determine how much energy is required to completely destroy a dendrite, scientists can better understand its structure and characteristics. And although scientists admit that they have not fully studied the phenomenon of destruction of dendrites when heated, they are confident that for at least partial recovery of batteries, it is enough to heat them a little.
“In our work, we investigated one of the aspects that affect the lifespan of lithium batteries, namely the formation of dendrites in the process of charging and discharging the battery. In this sense, "annealing", like "pulsing charging", can extend the life of the battery. However, it should be noted that overheating can cause its degradation, ”the co-author explained to Gazeta.Ru. research Boris Merinov.
The life of a modern person is very closely connected with a variety of electrical things: be it a portable radio, telephone, flashlight, navigator, camera, and much more! The main thing that unites all of them is that their operation requires power sources: various batteries and accumulators.
Let's talk about some ways to revive dead batteries!
They naturally often sit down, which in turn can deprive us of the chance to use them. And not just in ordinary and calm situations, when we can solve the problem by recharging from the network or buying a new battery, but also when you are, for example, on a hike or are in a situation where your life is in danger!
1 waysurely many people know it consists in impacting the battery with blows (leave it against the wall, gently tap it with a hammer!) This can return some charge, because in this way the oxides that have arisen in the battery are destroyed and it will last for some time. From the experience of childhood, one can also note a more radical impact, the crushing of the battery (with a multi-tool, if any) in its different parts (someone even uses their teeth and simply bites the battery, which of course we do not recommend).
2 . Piercing the battery in various ways in different places, so that the puncture points do not touch the inner rod. You can pierce randomly, you can make a couple of punctures along the rod at a certain distance from it, or you can pierce across the plus and minus, this will already have an effect on itself, to internal processes air will be connected to the battery and form an additional electrode.
3. You can also boil our batteries in boiling water (several minutes).
4. There is also another option to make holes and fill them with water, from a syringe or something else, so that the water does not flow out, close the holes with electrical tape or whatever is at hand.
1. Recharging from a finger battery, we need two wires and a working finger battery, we will connect (with wires) plus to plus, and minus to minus our batteries, and hold them like that for a while.
Modern rechargeable batteries installed in our mobile devices very hardy and designed for a long service life. In order to make the service life the longest and safest, be sure to adopt and follow the following simple recommendations:
1. Once a month, without fail, fully discharge and charge the battery of the device. This procedure is called calibration. Although modern Li-ion batteries practically not subject to the “memory effect”, for their long service life such an operation is simply necessary!
2. Try not to let your device run on low battery. The fact is that each battery has its own safe voltage limit (about 3V), which can damage the cells. That's why put the device on charge when 15-20% of the charge remains.
3. To avoid trouble, never store your device with a fully discharged battery.
If for a long time if you are not going to use it, then make sure that the battery has at least a small charge. Fully charge the battery before using the device again.
4. Avoid frequent full discharges of the device battery! A complete discharge of the battery is needed only before the start of operation to calibrate the control system. Forced shutdown of the phone affects the battery life not for the better. Do not be afraid of "unplanned" exercises. Do them more often.
5. Do not overcharge the battery. Those. in other words, don't leave your device on charge all night. This shortens battery life.
6. If possible, observe the temperature regime when charging and working with the device. Avoid high (above 35 C) and low (below 0 C) temperatures. Operating the battery in an unfavorable range will accelerate the wear process. The optimal temperature for work and charging will be room temperature (21 - 22 C). The worst option here is to work with a fully charged battery at elevated temperatures and in direct sunlight. In this case, the temperature inside the device seriously increases, which does not have the best effect on all its elements, incl. battery.
7. Remove all cases from your device before charging. They prevent its natural ventilation, which increases the risk of malfunctions.
8. When charging the device, if possible, turn off WiFi, various services, cellular data, push, in general, everything that actively loads your battery. In this case, charging will be faster, and heat generation, with all the consequences, will be less.
You will need
Instruction
The process of restoring the performance of the battery is called regeneration. Practice shows that not every element is suitable for recovery, but only one whose capacity and voltage have not fallen below certain value(for a 1.5 V AA battery, this value will be 0.7-0.8 V).
Take into account the fact that batteries operating at high load currents (flashlights, children's toys, portable radio tape recorders, etc.) are most successfully recoverable; much worse - elements operating at low currents (clocks, portable radios, cameras, etc.)
If the finger battery has been stored for a long time and dried up, make two holes with an awl or a thin nail along the central rod in the middle between it and the edges of the battery. Punctures should be made to a depth of approximately ¾ of the height galvanic cell.
Inject a few drops of water (preferably distilled) into one of the holes using a medical syringe. The displaced air will exit through the second hole at this time. As soon as water appears in the second hole, the syringe is removed. After "refueling" the battery, cover the holes with plasticine or hot resin.
Another, more reliable filling option for a battery is not water, but a 10% hydrochloric acid solution or a double dose of table vinegar.
In addition, you can revive the battery by immersing it in hot water for about 10 minutes.
Mechanical impacts can also extend battery life by 2-3 days. Try gently tapping on the body of the elements with a small hammer.
There are charger options for various types batteries. Schemes of such devices can be found on the Internet.
note
Keep in mind that it’s better not to take risks and, if possible, still replace the “updated” batteries with new ones, as there is a risk that liquid can leak from old batteries and ruin the microcircuits of your equipment.
Sources:
Many motorists are familiar with the situation when one frosty morning the engine refuses to wake up after a cold night. Then it becomes clear that the battery is dead. But don't rush to buy a new one. After all, you can restore a “dead” battery. If properly recharged, it will last a long time.
Instruction
Remember that the battery needs a certain speed. If, for example, your battery has a capacity of 50 amp-hours, it should be charged for 10 hours at a current of 5 amps. Be sure to remove the covers when charging.
If you try to charge the battery faster, this may result in overheating or boiling of the electrolyte. And if the plates warp, the battery will die. If the battery is sealed, it must be charged even more slowly. On average, no more than 2.5% of the ampere-hour. However, keeping the battery under charge for too long is also not worth it.
There are chargers with fast charging. It must be used
only in extreme cases. After all, this procedure reduces the life of the battery.
If your battery is dead and you need to start it urgently, the easiest way is to charge the battery from an external source. Usually, car enthusiasts help each other out by letting a dead battery be recharged from their car. However, for this you need to have a starter cable. They are very different. But it’s better not to “left”, made in a handicraft way, but factory. After all, the wrong cable can melt at the first use. Because of this, it will heat up and lose energy. So close to the fire.
If you have a start cable, first you need to connect the red cable to the (+) terminal on the charged one. Then you need to connect the other end of the red cable to the (+) terminal on the dead battery. Then connect the black cable to the (-) terminal on the charged battery and the other end to a clean ground point on the engine block or chassis. The main thing is that it should be away from the battery, carburetor, fuel hoses. At the time of connection, a small spark may slip through.
Care must be taken that both cables do not touch moving parts. Now you can start the car with a charged battery. It must run for at least one minute. Then try to start the car with the dead battery. If the engine does not start, wait a few minutes and try again. When everything works out, you can turn off the donor car. When you disconnect the starter cable, repeat the entire procedure in reverse order.
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The battery needs care. The electrolyte level should be checked regularly. Low will tell about excessive charging. If there is not enough electrolyte in only one of the cells, the battery will soon die.
Every motorist sooner or later faces a situation when the battery "dies", this problem is especially acute at a time when frosts begin. There are many reasons due to which the battery may lose its performance, it may be the door not completely closed, and the interior light turned on for a long time, and the forgotten working radio tape recorder. In general, any energy consumer that has remained in working condition for a long time leads to this.
Instruction
However, in addition to forgotten electrical appliances, a faulty one, which supplies an insufficient charge, or an electrolyte level that is too low, can also cause a failure. To restore life, first of all, check the electrolyte level - if it is below the required level, add distilled water to the jars.
Try to evaluate your capabilities, that is, decide which way is easiest for you to start the battery. It may be possible to start with " ", which is only done in cars with manual transmissions, but this is not recommended, since there is a possibility of damage, such as belt slippage, for example.
One of the most simple ways to bring the battery back to life is to use the “cigarette lighter” from the battery of another running car. To do this, you just need to stop a passing car and ask the driver for help.
In the event that there is no possibility to “light up”, you do not dare to start from the “pusher”, it remains to remove the battery in order to bring it back to life. If the problem arose at a time when the temperature outside is below zero, that is, more than minus 5 degrees Celsius, enter battery into heat to warm it up.
But before that, make sure that at least dashboard, only in this case, after the battery is heated to a temperature of 20 degrees, a charge will appear in it, which will be able to turn the starter and start the car.
Perfect option- this is to put the battery on charge for a day if you have a charger, which can be purchased at any car shop. After you start the car, it should be left to idle for at least 15 minutes - then the battery will finally “come to life”. In the future, to avoid unpleasant situations, fully charge the battery and contact the service station to detect energy leaks and determine the health of the generator.
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note
The battery charger provides a starter current of greater strength, which leads to the resuscitation of the car's power source.
Helpful advice
The cold season reduces the output of the battery by a quarter, which is why it turns out one morning that it is not able to provide a normal current supply to start the engine. If it is possible to leave the car overnight in a heated garage, then it is better to use it.
Lithium batteries are considered intelligent, they are equipped with a built-in controller. Lithium is the most active metal, so the batteries are compact and capacious. They contain 1.5-2 times more energy than nickel ones. But this feature also has a downside. It is almost impossible to restore batteries. It's easier to keep them in working order.
Has the battery of your camera, flashlight, child's toy, or other necessary device suddenly run out? Such an event cannot be foreseen. Unless you are using special batteries with indicators. Or, as a precaution, don't carry a replacement with you. How to charge batteries at home? We will share with you helpful instructions and recommendations.
Not every finger-type accumulator can be filled with energy by a handicraft method. What kind of batteries can be recharged? Only finger alkaline (alkaline). But salt is by no means impossible! The possibility of leakage of the composition or explosion of the product is not excluded.
We figured out whether it is possible to charge the battery. If you constantly use such finger-type batteries, then it is easiest for you to buy a special charger for them. Such a device will help to "breathe life" into the battery without unnecessary hassle.
However, the method also has significant drawbacks. Each charge reduces battery life by one-third. In addition, the procedure may cause leakage of its composition.
Consider how to charge batteries at home. For this method, you will need a power supply and wires to connect to it. Everything is in place? Here is the instruction for action:
When receiving a rechargeable AA battery in this way, pay attention to these recommendations:
You can also restore the battery charge by ordinary heating. But be careful - the method is fraught with an explosion of the product!
The simplest is the following:
The method is rather incomprehensible and exotic at first glance. We need to reduce the size of the battery so that the charge in it is restored on its own.
What needs to be done for this? Mechanically reduce, make thinner the volume of the case. To do this, the battery is beaten against something solid - asphalt, wall, stone, brick, and so on. Or they just trample it with thick shoes. You can try to flatten with an improvised tool - for example, pliers.
This method will charge all finger batteries. I must say that such a "barbaric" method helps to restore the charge in some cases even up to 100%!
We continue to disassemble how to charge batteries at home. Within this method, two methods can be distinguished.
Instructions for the first:
How to charge batteries at home in a different way:
Now you know how to charge a AA alkaline battery. Choose any method convenient for you. And, most importantly, be extremely careful! From careless actions, the battery may explode!
