How batteries work - Adam Jacobson

Kako funkcionišu baterije - Adam Džejkobson (Adam Jacobson )

Prevodilac: Mile Živković Lektor: Anja Saric

You probably know the feeling.

Verovatno znate taj osećaj.

Your phone utters its final plaintive "bleep"

Vaš telefona ispušta svoj poslednji tužni "blip"

and cuts out in the middle of your call.

i gasi se usred vašeg poziva.

In that moment, you may feel more like throwing your battery across the room

Tog trenutka, radije biste bateriju bacili na drugi kraj sobe

than singing its praises,

nego je hvalili,

but batteries are a triumph of science.

ali baterije su vrhunac nauke.

They allow smartphones and other technologies to exist

One omogućavaju postojanje pametnih telefona i drugih tehnologija

without anchoring us to an infernal tangle of power cables.

bez vezivanja za pakleni čvor strujnih kablova.

Yet even the best batteries will diminish daily,

Ipak, čak i najbolje baterije će izdahnuti za jedan dan

slowly losing capacity until they finally die.

i polako gubiti kapacitet dok konačno ne otkažu.

So why does this happen,

Zašto se ovo dešava,

and how do our batteries even store so much charge in the first place?

i kako naše baterije uopšte skladište toliko energije?

It all started in the 1780s with two Italian scientists,

Sve je počelo 1780-tih sa dva italijanska naučnika,

Luigi Galvani and Alessandro Volta,

Luiđijem Galvanijem i Alesandrom Voltom

and a frog.

i jednom žabom.

Legend has it that as Galvani was studying a frog's leg,

Legenda kaže da dok je Galvani proučavao noge žabe,

he brushed a metal instrument up against one of its nerves,

okrznuo je metalni instrument o jedan od njenih nerava,

making the leg muscles jerk.

od čega su zgrčili mišići noge.

Galvani called this animal electricity,

Galvani je ovo nazvao životinjskim elektricitetom,

believing that a type of electricity was stored in the very stuff of life.

verujući da se u živim stvarima skladišti jedna vrsta elektriciteta.

But Volta disagreed,

Ali Volta se nije slagao

arguing that it was the metal itself that made the leg twitch.

i tvrdio je da je sam metal taj koji je nogu naterao da se zgrči.

The debate was eventually settled with Volta's groundbreaking experiment.

Rasprava je konačno završena sa Voltinim revolucionarnim eksperimentom.

He tested his idea with a stack of alternating layers of zinc and copper,

Isprobao je svoju ideju sa gomilom naizmeničnih slojeva cinka i bakra

separated by paper or cloth soaked in a salt water solution.

koje je razdvajao papir ili tkanina natopljeni u rastvor slane voda.

What happened in Volta's cell is something chemists now call oxidation and reduction.

U Voltinoj ćeliji se desilo ono što hemičari

sada zovu oksidacijom i redukcijom.

The zinc oxidizes, which means it loses electrons,

Cink oksidira, što znači da gubi elektrone

which are, in turn, gained by the ions in the water in a process called reduction,

koje zauzvrat dobija nazad od jona iz vode u procesu koji se zove redukcija,

producing hydrogen gas.

i proizvodi gas vodonik.

Volta would have been shocked to learn that last bit.

Volta bi se šokirao da sazna ovu poslednju informaciju.

He thought the reaction was happening in the copper,

On je mislio da se reakcija dešava u bakru,

rather than the solution.

umesto u rastvoru.

None the less, we honor Volta's discovery today

Ipak, danas odajemo priznanje Voltinom otkriću

by naming our standard unit of electric potential "the volt."

tako što standardnu jedinicu električnog potencijala zovemo "volt".

This oxidation-reduction cycle creates a flow of electrons between two substances

Ovaj ciklus oksidacije i redukcije stvara tok elektrona između dve supstance

and if you hook a lightbulb or vacuum cleaner up between the two,

i ako povežete sijalicu ili usisivač između ovo dvoje,

you'll give it power.

daćete im napajanje.

Since the 1700s, scientists have improved on Volta's design.

Od 1700-tih, naučnici su unapređivali Voltin dizajn.

They've replaced the chemical solution with dry cells filled with chemical paste,

Hemijski rastvor zamenili su suvim ćelijama punjenim hemijskom pastom,

but the principle is the same.

ali princip je isti.

A metal oxidizes, sending electrons to do some work

Metal oksidira i šalje elektrone da obave posao

before they are regained by a substance being reduced.

pre nego što ih dobije nazad od supstance koja se redukuje.

But any battery has a finite supply of metal,

Ali bilo koja baterija ima ograničene količine metala

and once most of it has oxidized, the battery dies.

i kad većina metala oksidira, baterija je mrtva.

So rechargeable batteries give us a temporary solution to this problem

Punjive baterije daju nam privremeno rešenje za ovaj problem

by making the oxidation-reduction process reversible.

tako što proces oksidacije i redukcije čine dvostranim.

Electrons can flow back in the opposite direction

Elektroni mogu da teku u suprotnom smeru

with the application of electricity.

uz primenu elektriciteta.

Plugging in a charger draws the electricity from a wall outlet

Uključivanje na punjač vuče struju iz utičnice,

that drives the reaction to regenerate the metal,

koja pokreće reakciju regenerisanja metala,

making more electrons available for oxidation the next time you need them.

čime je više elektrona dostupno za oksidaciju naredni put kad su potrebni.

But even rechargeable batteries don't last forever.

Ali čak i punjive baterije ne traju večno.

Over time, the repetition of this process causes imperfections

Tokom vremena, ponavljanje ovog procesa prouzrokuje nesavršenstva

and irregularities in the metal's surface that prevent it from oxidizing properly.

i nepravilnosti u površini metala zbog čega ne može pravilno da oksidira.

The electrons are no longer available to flow through a circuit

Elektroni više nisu dostupni za prolaz kroz kolo

and the battery dies.

i baterija je mrtva.

Some everyday rechargeable batteries

Neke standardne baterije

will die after only hundreds of discharge-recharge cycles,

otkazuju nakon samo nekoliko stotina ciklusa punjenja i pražnjenja,

while newer, advanced batteries can survive and function for thousands.

dok novije i naprednije baterije mogu da prežive i funkcionišu hiljadama.

Batteries of the future may be light, thin sheets

Baterije budućnosti možda budu u obliku lakih, tankih papira

that operate on the principles of quantum physics

koji funkcionišu na principima kvantne mehanike

and last for hundreds of thousands of charge cycles.

i traju stotine hiljada ciklusa punjenja.

But until scientists find a way to take advantage of motion

Ali dok naučnici ne pronađu način da iskoriste kretanje

to recharge your cell battery, like cars do,

kako bi se ćelije vaše baterije napunile, kao kod automobila,

or fit solar panels somewhere on your device,

ili da postave solarne ploče negde na vašu napravu,

plugging your charger into the wall,

uključivanje punjača u zid

rather than expending one battery to charge another

a ne trošenje jedne baterije kako bi se napunila druga

is your best bet to forestall that fatal "bleep."

vaš je najbolji način da odgodite to fatalno "blip".