how does electricity and batteries work?

Question

What in a battery or in a eletrical wire powers electrical equipment, if atoms are responsible how do they react to duase the energy...
Detailed yet understanable answeres apprecaited.

Answer 1

Electricity is the movement of electrons along a wire.
The battery is the 'store' of electrons and may be thought of as the 'pump'.
When an electrical circuit is connected, with a switch, light and battery, then the battery - being the pump - drives the electrons around the wire (Voltage)- the pressure. .
The amount of electrons being driven is called the Amperage.(Amps).
The light filament (the part that glows) is a very narrow wire it is like a constriction in the electron flow, which the battery is trying to force the electrons through - this 'narrowness' of the wire together with the switch are the Resistances.The filaments resistance is constant but allows an electrons flow. The switch is either totally resistance to the flow - no flow - or allows a free flow of electrons.
Sometimes it is easier to think of electricity as a flow of water in a pipe. A tank of water being the battery. A tap being the resistance. The amount and speed of the water from the tap is the 'amps' and 'voltage'
The German scientist Ohm gave us Ohm's Law which is:-
Volts = Amps x Resistance
V = I x R
Hope this helps!!!!
.

Answer 2

Forget the name electricity.
A battery has two chemicals. They can combine to make a new chemical which has a lower energy. Everything in the universe seems to go from high to low. It certainly explains the money in my bank account.
To do so requires a chemical reaction.
Chemical reactions are just movements of electrons from one atom to another.
Now in a battery, for a reason I call 'witchcraft' [It's not really called that but it sounds fun] the only way the electrons can move to do the reaction is through a wire. It can't do it through the battery. It has to go out through a wire and back again. That's the magic bit.
The initial chemicals had a high energy and the chemicals they turn into as the battery goes flat have a lower one. Hi-2-Lo, see. They give up their energy on the way. In bulbs, buzzers, etc.

And that's all there is too it. It certainly answers your question

If you want to know about the 'whichcraft' bit and why the electrons have to go out of the battery...well, that's another question. Don't make me answer that.

Answer 3

A battery is, simply stated, a can of chemicals that produce electrons. If you look at any battery, you'll notice that it has two terminals. One terminal is marked (+), or positive, while the other is marked (-), or negative. In an AA, C or D cell (normal flashlight batteries), the ends of the battery are the terminals.

Electrons collect on the negative terminal of the battery. If you connect a wire between the negative and positive terminals, the electrons will flow from the negative to the positive terminal as fast as they can (and wear out the battery very quickly -- this also tends to be dangerous, especially with large batteries, so it is not something you want to be doing). Normally, you connect some type of load to the battery using the wire. The load might be something like a light bulb, a motor or an electronic circuit like a radio.

Inside the battery itself, a chemical reaction produces the electrons. The speed of electron production by this chemical reaction (the battery's internal resistance) controls how many electrons can flow between the terminals. Electrons flow from the battery into a wire, and must travel from the negative to the positive terminal for the chemical reaction to take place. That is why a battery can sit on a shelf for a year and still have plenty of power -- unless electrons are flowing from the negative to the positive terminal, the chemical reaction does not take place. Once you connect a wire, the reaction starts.

How's that?\

Here, try this: Make a clock run using two potatos as batteries.

STEP 1: Assemble your supplies. You'll need two common galvanized nails; three alligator clip/wire units - that is, alligator clips connected to one another with wire; two short pieces of heavy copper wire; a simple low-voltage LED clock unit; and two potatoes. Obtain a simple LED clock unit that functions from the power of a 1- to 2-volt, button-type battery. STEP 2: Open the battery compartment and remove the battery. STEP 3: Note that there is a positive (+) and a negative (-) terminal point where the battery was installed. STEP 4: Identify the potatoes as number one and number two. STEP 5: Insert one nail in each potato. STEP 6: Insert one short piece of heavy copper wire in each potato, placing it as far from the nail as possible. STEP 7: Use one alligator clip/wire to connect the copper wire inserted in potato one to the positive terminal in the clock unit. STEP 8: Use one alligator clip/wire to link the nail in potato two to the negative terminal in the clock unit. STEP 9: Use the final alligator clip/wire to link the nail in potato one to the copper wire in potato two. STEP 10: Set your clock.

Answer 4

is a flow of electric charge, and its intensity is measured in amperes. Examples of electric currents include metallic conduction, where electrons flow through a conductor or conductors such as a metal wire, and electrolysis, where ions (charged atoms) flow through liquids. The particles themselves often move quite slowly, while the electric field that drives them propagates at close to the speed of light. See electrical conduction for more information.

Devices that use charge flow principles in materials are called electronic devices.

A direct current (DC) is a unidirectional flow, while an alternating current (AC) reverses direction repeatedly. The time average of an alternating current is zero, but its energy capability (RMS value) is not zero.

Ohm's Law is an important relationship describing the behaviour of electric currents, relating them to voltage.

For historical reasons, electric current is said to flow from the most positive part of a circuit to the most negative part. The electric current thus defined is called conventional current. It is now known that, depending on the conditions, an electric current can consist of a flow of charged particles in either direction, or even in both directions at once. The positive-to-negative convention is widely used to simplify this situation. If another definition is used - for example, "electron current" - it should be explicitly stated.

Answer 5

Electricity occurs when atoms release excess particles called electrons. Batteries have chemicals that contain extra electrons, and when they touch metal the electrons are conducted through the metal. The wires conduct electricity because they have metal in the middle (usually copper.)

Answer 6

Batteries and electrical wires work differently. Batteries use acid, while wires are just feeders of power brought from a source (like coal burning, or a nuclear power plant).

Answer 7

Not very well in my phone or laptop.

Answer 8

magic look it up