Why some batteries can be recharge and some can't?

[hei]

Charging battery is pushing back the electrons to the battery, and what is the different between a rechargeable battery and a non-chargeable battery make them can be charge and another one can't ?

[GDG]

Not so much a physics problem as a chemistry problem. A chemical reaction occurs at the electrodes inside the battery: in a rechargeable battery, the reaction is fairly reversible. In a non-rechargeable, not so much.

Edited March 5, 2009 by GDG
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[YT2095]

there aren`t Many batteries that can`t be recharged however, even the simple Zinc Carbon cells can be.

[Kyrisch]

there aren`t Many batteries that can`t be recharged however, even the simple Zinc Carbon cells can be.

 

I think it boils down to the efficiency of the recharge, though. For instance, I think that the energy required to reverse the reaction inside a one-use battery would be much much greater than that necessary to recharge a marketed "rechargeable" battery.

[hei]

A chemical reaction occurs at the electrodes inside the battery: in a rechargeable battery, the reaction is fairly reversible. In a non-rechargeable, not so much.

 

Does this means rechargeable battery = AC type; and non-chargeable battery = DC type?

[NowThatWeKnow]

Does this means rechargeable battery = AC type; and non-chargeable battery = DC type?

 

 

No, All batteries are DC.

[iNow]

Hello Hei,

 

The type of current does not influence how the battery produces electricity. So, whether it is AC (alternating current) or DC (direct current), it is still generating that electricity from a chemical reaction. Inside the battery, certain chemicals mix and as they react generate the electricity.

 

The difference between a battery which can recharge and a battery which cannot recharge is the chemicals within the battery. Some chemical reactions can be reversed multiple times. Those are used in rechargables. Other chemical reactions, however, cannot be reversed, and once they've reacted, you won't get any more out of it. That's how normal batteries work.

[YT2095]

it may be worth pointing out (to avoid confusion) that`s there`s no such thing as an AC battery either, all batts deliver DC only.

[Norman Albers]

I talked with yt about slowly recharging alkaline cells. My charger trials did not yield much usefulness. However, after moving into a place with a half-dozen solar "driveway-path" lights, none of which were working, alkakine batteries this past summer leaves me with one actually working, recharging lamp. These units are supposed to have Ni-Cad or something but who wants to spend that sort of $?¿?

[Vortigon]

Be careful trying to recharge normal batteries, some depending on their chemical type, may release a gas during the process which may build up inside the sealed unit and the battery can explode, ruining your day entirely

[prodigenius]

The explanations of "some reactions are reversible and some are not" is mostly correct, but by itself insufficient. It boils down to the state of matter of the materials; in general, liquid batteries (mercury, car batteries) have more reversible reactions.