How a lithium-ion battery works: ions inside, electrons outside

How a lithium-ion battery works: ions inside, electrons outside

A battery works because electrons can't take the short way.

Charged, lithium sits between sheets of graphite. In use, each one splits into an ion and an electron. The ions swim through a thin wall to the other side, but the wall stops electrons, so they go round the wire and through your phone to meet them. Charging pushes both back.

One full charge of a common 18650 cell sends about 75 thousand billion billion electrons round. Save it for the next time your phone dies.

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