Hey Ray: Bouncing batteries and power level
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Full or empty, batteries look the same, so to find out if they have been drained, you either need a battery tester, or you just try them out.
Even a battery that has been drained weighs the same as one that has a full charge, so we have to tell the difference between a full battery and one that has seen a lot of use in a different way.
Online I saw a "life hack" that states an empty battery will bounce higher than a full one.
It seems like a simple way to check...but can it be that easy?
Let's find out by testing that idea of bouncing batteries, and the science behind it. I have some empty batteries and some full ones.
First, we will drop a nearly empty battery. You will notice it bounces up and flips over. So, there certainly is a bounce occurring, as stated online.
Now, let's do the same test with a fresh battery.
You will notice very little bounce when it hits the counter. There does seem to be some merit to this life hack.
We even tried it with a couple of different brands of batteries, bringing the same results.
According to the Institute of Physics (Which you can check out here!), when a battery has a full charge, parts of it consist of zinc particles in what is called an electrolyte matrix.
That is what allows the flow of electrical charge through the battery. As the battery drains energy, the zinc particles become encased in zinc oxide shells. This restricts their movement, and the connections between those zinc particles grow, displacing water. With that water displaced, pressure waves can more easily pass through the battery, increasing the height of the bounce.
Even though it won't give you an actual battery level, this trick does seem to have merit in differentiating between a used battery and a fresh one.
