Where
"Charge" is the operation of supplying the rechargeable
battery with direct current from an external power source to change the
active material in the negative plates chemically, and hence to store in
the battery electric energy in the form of chemical energy.
"Discharge" is the operation of drawing out electric energy from the
battery to operate external equipment.
In
the final stage of carging, an oxygen-generating reaction occurs at the
positive plates. This oxygen transfers inside the battery, then is
absorbed into the surface of the negative plates and consumed. These
electrochemical reaction processes are expressed as follows: |