Science

Nikola Corporation announces new battery technology that could double the range on electric cars



Batteries store and releases energy by moving electrons from one ‘end’ of the battery to the other. 

We can use the energy from those moving electrons to do work for us, like power a drill. 

These two battery ‘ends’ are known as electrodes. One is called the anode and the other is called the cathode. 

Generally, the anode is made from carbon and the cathode from a chemical compound known as a metal oxide, like cobalt oxide. 

The final battery ingredient is known as the electrolyte, and it sits in between the two electrodes. 

In the case of lithium-ion batteries, the electrolyte is a salt solution that contains lithium ions—hence the name.

When you place the battery in a device, the positively charged lithium ions are attracted to and move towards the cathode. 

Once it is bombarded with these ions, the cathode becomes more positively charged than the anode, and this attracts negatively charged electrons.

As the electrons start moving toward the cathode, we force them to go through our device and use the energy of the electrons ‘flowing’ toward the cathode to generate power. 

You can think of this like a water wheel, except instead of water flowing, electrons are flowing.

Lithium-ion batteries are especially useful because they are rechargeable. 

When the battery is connected to a charger, the lithium ions move in the opposite direction as before. 

As they move from the cathode to the anode, the battery is restored for another use. 

Lithium ion batteries can also produce a lot more electrical power per unit of weight than other batteries.

This means that lithium-ion batteries can store the same amount of power as other batteries, but accomplish this in a lighter and smaller package.



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