We can define human energy as the strength and available power to sustain a physical or mental activity. In our world of batteries, this translates into using physical or chemical resources to deliver movement, light, or heat. But those are broad terms we need to tie down, to define what electrical energy is in practical terms.
An Overview of Electrical Energy in Batteries
Electrical energy is the power that materializes, as electrical charges move between points with different electric potentials or voltages. These charges – usually in the form of electrons – move through a material or an open space. As they do so, they may power an electrical or electronic device.
Let’s use an electric heater as an example. The two ends of the heating element have different potentials. The one with the higher voltage attracts the flow of electrons. The resistance to the flow in the heating element produces heat. This is why the electric heater element glows.
Let’s Apply This to Electrochemical Energy
We call the electrical power in batteries electrochemical energy, because the potential in its chemicals pushes the electrons through a device. Batteries have two electrodes (cathode and anode) comprising different materials with different potentials.
A chemical reaction inside a battery causes a difference in charge between the two electrodes. Different voltages between the electrodes create an ‘urge’ to move electrons to restore the balance. These electrons move between the electrodes via an external circuit connected to the battery terminals.
This electrical energy ‘enlivens’ the external circuit which could be a phone, an electric car motor, or a flashlight. This is how, in non-technical terms, the chemical energy inside a battery transforms into other forms of energy such as movement, light, heat etc.
And that, in overview terms, explains what electrical energy is, and what happens inside a battery.
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