What is a car battery and how does it work? We know batteries. They’re what we do best: truck batteries, boat batteries, car batteries, whatever the size, shape or function there’s something about those little technological miracles powering away that really get our blood pumping. Don’t feel the same? We would like to say we understand, but we don’t. Read on to find out about why we love batteries so much – free of charge (pun intended).
What does a car battery do?
A car battery can be compared to your favorite star player, and the car’s engine is the team. Not only does the battery get the engine or ‘team’ started, when the team’s not there it’s capable of keeping the lights, fans and music going. Travelling at speed? When the car’s engine is under stress, the battery also picks up the slack, stabilizing the alternator output and protecting the vehicle’s electrical system.
How does it work?
We rarely stop to think about how amazing a little piece of technology can be sometimes, and batteries are no exception. These bad boys store electrical energy in chemical form, and produce their own charge, which is impressive in itself. But car batteries can also regenerate this power by pushing the electrical current back the other way, meaning you can reuse the battery over and over (or for up to three years for a car battery). Pretty cool stuff, hey!
So how do they do it? Try to re-channel your high school chemistry lessons. A battery consists of a negative electrode (a plate made of pure lead) and a positive electrode (a plate made of lead dioxide paste). They say opposites attract, but in a Marshall battery this is only possible when the two plates are immersed in a liquid solution. It’s just like a glass of wine on a first date of two opposites; it gets the conversation (or electrical current) flowing. We won’t bore you with the intricacies but essentially when the metals are connected together above the liquid, an electrical current flows through the connection producing volts.
Not excited about batteries yet? Here’s one last fact. Ever wondered what happens to all the car batteries after they wear out? Fortunately, because of the unique properties of lead they are relatively easy to recycle! You can read about Marshall Batteries Total Battery Management recycling program
Well there you go. If you want to learn more intricate details about how batteries work, how to install them in your car and the correct way to check your batteries power you can read more here.