Is Electricity Stored in Batteries? Common Misconceptions

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Batteries are in many of the items we use on a daily basis. And why not? It allows us to be mobile without having to be hindered with miles of extension cords connecting our equipment to a power source. But is electricity actually stored IN a battery? In today’s episode of Electrician U, Dustin speaks about how a battery works.
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To better understand what a battery is, let us define what electricity is. Electricity is a function of an interaction of charged particles that we can use EMF (electromotive force) to move current through a conductor. A battery on the other hand is a chemical storage device that doesn’t generate electricity until conductors are hooked up to it. And even then, the electricity is EXTERNAL to the battery, not within it. No conductors, no current flow!
There are many types of batteries- Lead Acid, Nickel Cadmium, Lithium Ion, and more. For the purposes of this discussion, we will be discussing a Lead Acid battery. This type of battery is a container that houses sulfuric acid (H2SO4). It also has 2 lead electrodes in it- 1 Anode and 1 Cathode. One of these lead electrodes has a coating of Lead Dioxide on it that attracts the charges while the other repels them.
When an external power source is introduced (a battery charger) to the battery, a chemical reaction happens, and the sulfuric acid starts to change. The SO4 transfers to the lead electrodes (positive to one, negative to the other) leaving H2O2 as the solution. The leads now become PBSO4 and are positively and negatively charged). At this point if conductors are added to the battery, one on each of the positive and negative terminals, along with a load, electrons will flow through them. But this is all EXTERNAL to the battery itself, not INTERNAL.
Energy itself must be transferred from one type to another to be useful. Take a power generation station. Some type of mechanical energy (a generator) spins on one end and is transferred overhead (as electrical energy) to a building. However, electrical energy isn’t useful until we transfer it into something useful to us. Maybe its light energy (light fixtures) or heat energy (a toaster or a heater).
So, as we can see, batteries don’t really STORE electricity, but rather store CHEMICALS. When an external source of power is applied to the battery, a chemical reaction occurs, positively and negatively charged particles are transferred to their respective electrodes and are discharged through the EXTERNAL conductors when hooked up to these electrodes!
We hope this has been helpful in understanding what a battery is and how it works. Is there a topic you would like to see discussed here on Electrician U? Leave us a comment in the comments section and let us know. Please continue to follow Dustin Stelzer and Electrician U as we are constantly updating our content to assist our followers in becoming the best electricians that they can be.
#electrician #electrical #is #electricity #stored #in #batteries #common #misconceptions

[@SvinafellTroll]

When I was like 7 I was curious how batteries stored charge and never understood when people told me how, so eventually on my little work table in my room I got a hammer and a AA and started pounding it open. I remember expecting to see it spark and arc around but was super confused when some juice started coming out. My 7 year old brain thought it'd be an amazing idea to just taste a little bit of the 'juice' with the tip of my tongue After it felt like fire ants running all over my tongue and melting a little of the tip of my tongue off I went downstairs and ask my mom what happens if you drink battery juice, she told me you die. Then I started freaking out and spilled the beans on what happened. I feel pretty good after seeing this video but I may crack open a battery and take a lick for old times sake just to double check

[@patbullard9276]

Just take a 9volt battery and touch your tongue across the +and- posts. You’ll get a tingle but much safer.

[@randymathews3348]

😂 the "juice"

[@rogerk1710]

That was knowledge that I had never considered before. You have a way to describe the nuts and bolts of what is happening in the boxes or cylinders. Awesome content. Thanks Dustin!

[@sloanNYC]

Great explanation. We often use the term battery more broadly to just mean stored energy. E.g, even a dam would be a battery of stored energy. In this case, chemical energy of ions. The fact we've figured any of this stuff out is pretty amazing. Steam power is one thing, utilizing magnetic fields and inducing current... it's crazy!

[@tolydukhovny682]

you have said that the battery is charged by an "ac". this is dead wrong. the source for the charge is dc generator or a rectifier.

[@spikeklein2196]

Then what is happening when you plug your rechargeable batteries into a wall outlet?

[@angelmarrero.tameate3jigan867]

Thats correct 100%

[@Sembazuru]

@@spikeklein2196 If you plug a rechargeable battery directly into a wall outlet, it is likely to experience a Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly. Likely you are putting your rechargeable battery into a charger which then plugs into a wall outlet. The charger takes care of converting the wall AC to DC and then performs voltage and/or current control to the battery (the details of which are dependent on the type of rechargeable battery that the charger is designed for) for safe charging.

[@jamesjoseph8011]

Great minds think alike and you are very pointed in your explanation of concepts, especially electrical related ones. Keep up the good work my friend.

[@opticalmouse2]

He understands shit.

[@jameslaiola4976]

I really appreciate your videos. This is number one subject I wish to learn. But financially im unstable. So your information is very very very much appreciated. Have a great day

[@RobertM125]

Love this explication and I completely agree. It's not electricity until it's running through a circuit doing work. Before that it's just stored chemical energy. My only issue with what you said is that you can charge a battery with AC. You must first convert it to DC, else you would just be charging and discharging 50/60 times per second and not gaining any ground. Thanks for all your great videos. Love watching all of them.

[@tedlahm5740]

The car alternator does convert the three (3) phase AC to direct current, as you stated.

[@gagebell5602]

Rotary converter (Mechanical rectifier)

[@ikerivers1795]

@@gagebell5602 that’s the rectifier wheel, diodes, used to make AC in the stator windings of a generator

[@Roll2Videos]

Great job! Thanks

[@awood965]

Through the knowledge you have given and all the comments ive learned alot about this. Thankyou for this video Dustin. Keep grinding man

[@garbo8962]

Was taught in electric shop almost 60 years ago only two things store electricity: Capacitors & Leyden jars. Batteries store chemical energy that is converted to e!ectrical energy. Also taught that their is no such thing as a size A,AA,C or D batteries. Batteries have two or more cells that most times are in series so the lowest voltage for a dry cell battery is 3 volts.

[@timothyhaug2060]

Actually, a Leyden jar is a type capacitor, but it works on a different principle. It builds an electrical potential rather than using a chemical storage. Depending on how you build your Leyden jar, you can jump the voltage potential by thousands or even millions of volts.

[@gfalcone28]

I was immediately thrilled when i saw the molecule sketches you made. Looking at everyday things on the micro allows us to have a deeper and more thorough understansing of how the world works

[@opticalmouse2]

The hell you own about?! He has no clue what he's talking about.

[@RUFFFHOUSE]

Excellent!

[@sensaiskinny]

Could you do a continuing education video on the state of Georgia?

[@geraldgeorge4042]

Is it possible for you to do a video on Contactors and relays

[@cbell9100]

In a charged state there is a buildup of electrons on the positive plate. Inside the battery the positive and negative plates are separated. How do electrons get to the negative plate? By connecting them to each other outside the battery with conductors. Why do electrons flow outside the battery even through a load? Because the PbSO4 is much more stable than PbO, Pb, or sulfuric acid. It's potential. Electrons want to move to the other side rather than be on top of each other. It's worth explaining that there are electrons involved with this reaction not just chemicals changing. The electrons have to move for the reaction to go.

[@ianpapke804]

Running across a lot of 240v grounded B was wondering if you could do a video explaining it a little more in depth. Thanks

[@johndoemilli]

Can you do a video explaining on why welders would use a ground wire instead of neutral in a 240v hook up in a barn that is not neutral bonded and feed from a house breaker panel that is neutral bonded thanks in advance

[@brothermine2292]

Electricity is a flow of charge. Batteries store charge, but not flow. An analogy is storing water on a hilltop... the water will flow downhill if a low-friction path is available. Pumping water up the hill gives the water gravitational potential energy, just like charging a battery gives it chemical potential energy.

[@greywolf271]

Batteries produce electrical energy from chemical energy. Batteries don't store charge. The only way 'charge ' can be stored is in a capacitor. Since even the concept of an electron is theoretical, the concept of storing electrons as charge is theoretical too. The flow of electricity is conceptual. No one knows exactly what electricity is. It's only a theory made up to help explain to lesser minds how science believes that electricity works. One day, if the human race survives, we might be able to unravel the mysteries of physics. Until then, all we can do is produce theories.

[@brothermine2292]

@@greywolf271 : I acknowledge that I oversimplified when I said a battery "stores charge." To be more precise, it stores positive charge at one end and negative charge at the other end, in the form of atoms or molecules that either have fewer electrons than protons or more electrons than protons. A battery is more like a capacitor than you suggest. Both are electrically neutral in total, and "charging them up" involves moving some of their electrons from one side to the other side, which creates an electric potential difference, also known as voltage. Electrons aren't completely understood, but they're not just theoretical concepts, because (some of) their behavioral properties (interactions) are empirically observed. An electron is "the thing that has its observed properties." (Negative) charge is the name we associate with some of those properties. I don't know what you meant by "storing electrons as charge."

[@martf1061]

I jumped out of my seat, when i heard you say the phrase " electrical energy" ..😏 In a "not so long ago" video, you you were totally against the idea that electricity is an energy....🤔😋

[@PSwayBeats]

It's a moving electrical/ magnetic field through the wires Caused by differences in charge from whatever that may be like a battery

[@user-wd6ly3hj3c]

what are the torque of the 4awg cables and is there a key

[@xanatoseware996]

Can I be your apprentice lol I need another teacher. Love your vids bro you make learning things fun again.

[@HBSuccess]

fyi D.... H202 is hydrogen peroxide (not "two waters"). Water plus an extra oxygen atom, unstable at best. As it degrades the oxygen is released to the atmosphere. Combine some oxygen gas with some explosive hydrogen gas produced as the H2SO4 (sulfuric acid) degrades..with a spark from a battery charger.. and you get BOOM! That's one reason lead-acid batteries can blow up in your mechanic's face when overcharged or damaged, etc. A buddy of mine worked in a bus garage and lost an eye and had third-degree burns that side of his face when a battery he was charging exploded on him.

[@MitzvosGolem1]

Potential of ions in chemical versus plates . Current go from Negative to positive The " holes" move electrons move slow . Must take physics in University to understand in depth. Ps years ago I had a battery that was charged backwards. Positive became negative A guy hooked up a charger in reverse on a dead battery in boat Motor would not start. I found it when my meter went backwards.

[@martf1061]

I'm not convinced that you can recharge a batterie backward.

[@MitzvosGolem1]

@@martf1061 good to be a skeptic on internet 👍 Verify. I didn't believe it myself. An Interstate deep cycle marine battery an old timer hooked up backwards on a stone dead battery. His outboard would not start. My Simpson analog multimeter needle swang backwards is how I found it..

[@martf1061]

​@@MitzvosGolem1ill go check it out. But could only have been the inverted leads of the meter. Negative lead on positive battery pole and vice versa. And if it really was charged, but negative became positive, and the motor did not start because of that, then you only had to switch the wires on the battery to make it work.

[@martf1061]

4:26 It's not really mechanical energy, its more like, electromagnetic influence of the magnet into the wires, with the help of the mechanical movement.

[@rayives7758]

It actually is mechanical energy. The mechanical energy causes the moving magnetic field that induces the current in the wires. The magnet cannot move without the introduction of a mechanical force, "driven" by mechanical energy. The electromagnetic part serves as a sort of conversion factor to translate the mechanical input to electrical output.

[@Rohanraghu]

Which device should i use to run 50hz appliances on 20hz 3phase permanent magnet wind generator output❓ which device converts 20hz to 50hz output supply from low rpm wind permanent magnet genrators❓

[@gooneybird808]

Dope

[@paulkirby6822]

Ac is a source and a battery is a source but when combined the battery is the source not the charger it won’t handle the load

[@axelasdf]

AC can't charge a battery. You need DC. There can be AC with a DC offset.

[@RJ-ej1nr]

I'm actually ok with "Electricity" as an ambiguous and misused label, used for concepts relating to charge energy flow. When needing to talk about the specific aspect, that's when the precise terms come out: volts, amps, watts, joules, coulombs, farads, henry, etc.

[@ikerivers1795]

No, no and no! It’s not water in a battery it is an electrolyte. The charge in a battery is measured by the specific gravity of that electrolyte. For Substation Battery Racks a typical SG of 1.222, water is 1.0. Also it’s DC that is used to charge batteries. Generators at a Power Plant most certainly have Electrical energy. Before a generator is synced onto the grid it has voltage. Typically 13.8 kv or 14.4 kv and current, caused by resistance and the eddy currents. This is the general procedure for syncing a generator onto the grid. Turbine Generator unit reaches sync speed, typically a little bit above 3600 RPM. The AVR is turned on, typically a little bit above the grid voltage. At that point the sync scope is turned on and also the sync check relay. They work together to measure voltage magnitude, voltage difference, frequency (speed) difference and phase angle. When and only when the two devices are satisfied the generator can be synced to the grid safely. After that has been achieved the turbine generator unit is loaded, like add more steam. 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️🤔🤔

[@hudsonfeuerstein3799]

Hello, I'm a first year apprentice and am about to sign up with a trade school for my in class hours. Can your course replace those classroom hours? Thank you so much for the videos, they are incredibly helpful.

[@jdog370]

If you end up with H2O2 like you said that’s not water. Two molecules of water is 2H2O. 1 molecule of hydrogen peroxide is H2O2

[@themotorcycleguy5980]

Curious, Im a Journeyman Lineman in the IBEW, around 8 years and was wondering how hard would it be if i wanted to swap over to become a licensed electrician? I have been told that my "similar experience" could actually count towards hours you have to have to be able to take the test to get certified. I was really wanting to try this side of electricity out and figure ill take a pay cut at first but could my experience actually count towards getting certified as a electrician?

[@martf1061]

3:38 No it's not the same energy.

[@tedlahm5740]

Generated in a chemical reaction? The flashlight cells.

[@charleshill7184]

How is it not the same thing? Is not what you're calling "electrical energy" simply free (disassociated) electrons that get captured by the lead, oxygen, and hydrogen sulfide in the battery by creating ions. Discharging the battery is the PbSO4 giving up the extra electrons and them leaving. The flow of those electrons is "electrical energy", is it not?

[@lukesnyder3293]

so how do you charge batteries

[@martf1061]

He was almost there... But neh.. 🤷🤷

[@shawn576]

I'm trying to determine if the title is a play on "pee is stored in the balls" As a former chemist and now current electrician, the question itself seems odd. Is electricity stored in batteries? Um sort of. On one side, you have something like copper ions (Cu 2+). On the other side you have something like zinc metal (Zn). The positive copper ion is an oxidizer (something that steals electrons), and a zinc nucleus can't hold the electrons tight enough to stop this from happening, so electrons flow from the zinc to the copper, and the copper becomes copper metal while the zinc changes from a metal to an ion. The two half rections are like this: (Cu 2+) + 2e- => Cu (this happens at the positive terminal) Zn => (Zn 2+) + 2e- (this happens at the negative terminal) So having both happen at the same time causes this total reaction: (Cu 2+) + Zn => Cu + (Zn 2+) with electrons flowing from the negative terminal to the positive terminal. The chemical reaction can only go forward by itself like this if it will result in lower enthalpy. For example, copper ions can steal electrons from solid zinc, so this makes a working cell. Copper ions cannot steal electrons from zinc ions, so this cell would not work. Copper metal cannot steal electrons from zinc metal, so this cell would not work. Zinc ions cannot steal electrons from copper metal, but you can force this to happen by applying a voltage (a battery charger). I think this was all in grade 12 chemistry. It's really fun stuff when you get into it. The reason a battery has different voltages for different levels of charge is that enthalpy for the reaction depends on concentrations.

[@waynegram8907]

DUSTIN, do a lesson about what are Electrodes because coating electrodes with certain dioxides coating will polarize the electrodes. Also a lesson on the difference between an Electron and a Electrical Particle. A lot of people think electrons and particles are the same thing and don't know the differences between them. A lesson about different types of Electrolyte Solutions would be nice to go over also.

[@martf1061]

The relation between "electrons" and there nuclei, can be compared to, planets to their sun. And the smaller particules (bosons, muons, etc..) can be compared to moons or satellites around planets. Atoms and solar systems are alike, but on a different scale. Extremely small and extremely large. Whats the difference between something FAR and something SMALL ?

[@opticalmouse2]

@@martf1061 It's way out of its depth. The hell are you guys smoking?!

[@mario7_electrician]

So an AC battery will never exist right? because of how alternating current works...... Only DC batteries are able to hold positive and negative charges.

[@brandonprice2897]

Very confusing to someone who has absolutely no idea what they’re listening to. Very helpful to someone who does know what they’re listening to.

[@timothyhaug2060]

Really? Nobody else caught this? Fine, I will correct him. The alternator uses a rectifier to change the AC current into DC before it is output to the vehicle. The battery is charged via a DC current. Do not try connecting a car battery to an AC current. The results will be catastrophic.

[@ecospider5]

I like your definition of electricity from an electricians point of view. Electricity is current going through a wire. Your other analogies are not perfect if you talk about storing that energy in a capacitor instead of a battery.

[@martf1061]

But if " electricity is current going through a wire " then, what is Lightning? And btw, it's only in DC that theres a flow or "current" going from one point to the other. Like a water pipe. With AC, you can't use the water pipe as an example. You can compare it to sounds. Lets say that somebody hits something with a hammer, the sound you hear is not the air traveling from the hammer to your ears. It's the vibration of the air from the hammer to your ears. Throw a rock in the lake and the waves you see are pretty much the same. The water moves only up and down. AC is the same as the sound waves and the water waves from the rock.

[@billnolan2945]

H2O2 is hydrogen peroxide

[@angelmarrero.tameate3jigan867]

Ac battery ?

[@martf1061]

Where did you hear that?

[@martf1061]

3:10 Wrong.. Chemical reactions always happen because of there electromagnetic state. There is no such thing as " Chemical ENERGY" .

[@billthompson9482]

Electricity is the flow of electrons. Keep iy simple.

[@opticalmouse2]

Yep, instead he got into topics that is way above his knowledge and understanding.

[@OnlyCatechumen]

​@@opticalmouse2 I doubt it is above his understanding, probably yours though

[@itomba]

It all makes so much more sense now- yet I still don’t understand. Right sided brain guy.

[@martf1061]

Too much hand gestures

[@martf1061]

Nobody comes on this channel to see you trying to explain something you don't really understand.. Leave chemistry to the chemist. And focus more on the day to day basic Electrician working construction please.

[@martf1061]

Please stick with the pipe bending and the wiring tips.

[@chasebuxton8742]

Electricity is stored in the balls

[@opticalmouse2]

In some parts you're right, but in total, you're WAYYY out of your depth may man.

[@opticalmouse2]

From 5:00 onward the Dunning-Kruger effect starts kicking in. You're WAYY WAYYY out of your depth. Chemists and physicists do have different perspectives when explaining electricity, but they are not necessarily contradicting each other. While chemists and physicists think about electricity in different ways and use different terminology, their explanations do not actually contradict each other. Their perspectives are each partial but useful perspectives on the same underlying phenomenon.