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Understand how your phone battery works and how you can make it last longer
To say that the smartphone is a crucial component of our everyday lives is an understatement. Just over 20 years ago, it would have been inconceivable that our phones could do what it does today. Of course, with the increase in smartphone capabilities comes an increase in demand for electrical power. This has resulted in huge amounts of investment into Research & Development aiming to improve several components of the smartphone battery from size to capacity. In this Guide, we will explore how phone batteries work, some of characteristics you should look for in a battery and how you can make your phone battery’s charge last longer.
How do phone batteries work?
There are more than 80 kinds of batteries that exist today. This ranges from the science fair’s potato battery to the atomic battery that gets its power from decaying radioactive isotopes. For today, however, we will be looking at a specific kind of battery: Lithium-Ion batteries. This is the battery that is commonly used to power the phone in your hands.
Battery 101. Electricity is essentially the flow of electrons through a conductive path. To do that, three key components are often needed. You need the anode, which is the negative end of the battery. You may normally recognise the anode as the ‘-’ sign on your battery. A chemical reaction within the anode builds up electrons and positive ions. The second component is the cathode, which does not build up any of those. This is often symbolised by the ‘+’ sign on your battery. The electrons will attempt to equalise this difference by moving to the cathode. Now, we reach the third component: the electrolyte. The electrolyte acts as an insulator that prevents electrons from passing through it. It is located between the cathode and the anode, blocking them from each other. This means that the electrons are unable to move directly from the cathode to the anode. As such, they are trapped in their own territory.
When there is a conductor connecting the cathode and the anode together outside the battery (such…
