why will a battery be discharged even without installed into a electronic device?
2007-02-19 15:41:46 · 3 answers · asked by formystudies3 1 in Consumer Electronics ➔ Other - Electronics
Batteries have a rated shelf life. Alkaline batteries last about the longest sitting on the shelf, 5 or even 10 years. Rechargeable batteries, in general, discharge in a matter of weeks just sitting around.
Without going in to detail, batteries develop their charge through chemical reaction. Even with no current flow, the chemical reaction takes place to some degree, and the chemicals get used up. You can greatly extend battery shelf life by storing batteries in a cool place, which slows the chemical reaction. Do not freeze them though.
2007-02-19 16:25:09 · answer #1 · answered by semdot 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Simply put. We live at the bottom of a sea of air. This is how battery companies make their money. They sell you a two pack of batteries to get the one you need. So you put the other one in a drawer. Walla... when the first one "runs down" you go get the other one... and it is "dead" too. That "air" is just like running a wire from one end of the battery to the other. Project "the big ear" at Ohio state in the 80's found that the Pioneer 10 space probe's batteries were still usable even though it was launched in the 60's and shut down after three years due to expecting the batteries to fail (60's technology), but it was learned that in the near vacuum of space, those batteries had near infinite shelf life.
2007-02-19 17:04:29 · answer #2 · answered by Dusty 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Internal leakage. Conductive contaminants causing mini-circuits throughout each cell.
2007-02-22 16:42:29 · answer #3 · answered by Steve71 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋