VOLTAGE SOURCES

A. Objective :

Describe the work principle of the voltage source and its current as well as
its application in our daily life.

B. Voltage Sources
There are two kinds of voltage sources, alternating current (AC) and direct
current (DC) sources. An AC source (wall socket) provides a current that
varies continuously and has a periodically reverse direction; meanwhile a
DC source (battery) provides a fixed single current. Electric cells are
divided into primary cells and secondary cells.
a. Primary Cells
A primary cell is a disposable voltage source which cannot be
recharged if it has run out of charge, because the electrochemical
reaction in primary cells isn’t reversible.
1. Voltaic Cell
Voltaic cell was invented by Alessandro Volta (1745-1827), an
Italian physicist. A voltaic cell comprises two metal paltes
(electrodes) made of copper and zinc. Copper acts as an anode
(+), meanwhile zinc acts as a cathode (-). The electrolyte is a
solution of diluted sulfuric acid (H2SO4). The anode and
cathode of the cell are connected to a load (light bulb) by a
conducting wire. The conventional current flows from anode
to cathode, meanwhile the electron flows ina reverse direction.
Thus, current will flow in the circuit if trehe is current flow in
the solution from zinc plate to copper plate.
The voltaic cell converts chemical energy into electrical
energy. The chemical reaction between the metal plates and
the electrocyte produce current which is able to turn on the
 lamp for a while. But the voltaic cell has a weakness, it
produces a current only in short time.After the current flows
through the electrocyte, the copper plate’s surface will bw
covered by the hydrogen gas bubbles. It is called polarization.
If we clean up the bubbles, the lamp will turn on again. The
voltaic cell is not suitable for everyday use due to the
polarization.

2. Leclanche Cell
Leclanche cell is the modification of voltaic cell. Laclanche
cell consist of carbon rod as an anode (+) and zinc rod as a
cathode (-). An ammonium chloride (NH4Cl) solution acts as
the electrocyte. To prevent polarization, it uses a mixture of
manganese dioxide (MnO2) and carbon powder which works
as a depolarizer.
The depolarizer and the elecrolyte solution are separated by a
porous pot. The Laclanche cell relatively lasts longer than
voltaic cell. It produces a potential difference of 1.5 V.
3. Daniell Cell
In 1836, a British professor, John Daniell (1780-1845),
developed a simple cell that was able to supply a current for a
long time. The Daniell cell contains a copper rod as an anode
(+) in a copper sulfate (CuSO4) solution and zinc rod as a
cathode (-) in a zinc sulfate solution. It produces a potential
difference about 1.1 V.

4. Dry Cell
The so-called dry cell is battery. We often use batteries on our
daily life. The outer part of a battery is made of zinc, which
also acts as a negative terminal (cathode), meanwhile the
positive terminal (anode) still uses a carbon iron which is
usually covered by brass. The electrolyte of a battery is an
ammonium chloride (NH4Cl) solution. To prevent polarization,
it uses a depolarizer made of a mixture of manganese dioxide
and carbon powder to conduct the electric current better.
A battery is called a primary cell, because it produces electric
charges and it cannot be recharged. While the cell works, the
negative terminal (zinc) changes into zinc chloride and release
hydrogen, which makes the amount zinc and ammonium
chloride in the battery decrease.
Battery are widely use in our daily life. Batteries are made in
various sizes and shapes, depend on is purpose. A battery
generally has an output voltage of 1.5 V.
b. Secondary Cells
A secondary cell is a rechargeable voltage source. Its charge can be
restored if it has run out of charge. The electrochemical reaction in a
secondary cell is reversible.
1. Accumulator ( Car Battery )
An accumulator is a type of rechargeable battery (secondary
cell). Its charge can be restored by charging the battery with
electric energy.
Some adventages of accumulator compared to other batteries
are :
1) It has a longer lifetime.
2) It produces a larger current.
3) It can be recharged by applying electric energy if it has run
out of charge or its potential difference decrease.

The most common type of accumulator is a lead accumulator.

Its consist of two groups plates, each of which is connected to
a porous lead dioxide (PbO2) plate as a positive terminal and a
porous lead (Pb) plate as a negative terminal. Those terminal
are immersed to the accumulator container which contains a
diluted sulfuric acid (H2SO4) solution. The position of positive
and negative terminal so close. A separator made of insulating
meterial is required to prevent physical contact between those
terminals.
A pair of positive and negative terminlas in a accumulator is
called a cell. Each cell has a potential difference 2 V. The
number of cells in an accumulator varies depending on our
reqirement. If we like to have and accumulator with a total
potential differnce of 6 V, then it should have three cells. If we
like to have an accumulator with an output voltage of 12 V,
then it comprises six cells.

While accumulator is in use, lead (Pb) as a negative termminal

and lead dioxide (PbO2) as a positive terminal have a chemical
reaction with the sulfuric acid (H2SO4) solution. They will
slowly turn into lead sulfate (PbSO4) and release electrons. As
a result, the concentration and density of the sulfuric acid
decrease, until it reaches a certain level of concentration when
the accumulator is not able to discharge again. It can be
restored again to full charge by applying electric energy or
charging it.
Charging an accumulator is carried out by connecting the
negative terminal of the accumulator to direct current (DC)
voltage source in a reverse direction with the current flow from
the accumulator. The charging process converts electric
energy. It will reform the lead sulfate into lead oxide and lead.
 As a consequence, the current flowing from the voltage source
(solid line) will be a reverse direction with the current flowing
in the accumulator (dashed line), thus it will push back the
electron that flows from the accumulator. This process will
reverse the chemical reaction. It changes the positive terminal
from lead sulfate into lead dioxide and the negative terminal
from lead sulfate into lead.
Several important aspects that we should notice when we
charge accumulator are :
1) The battery charger (DC voltage source) must have a
higher potential difference than the accumulator.
2) Charnging an accumulator usually takes a long time up to
all day long, because a more effective way to charge an
accumulator is by using a small current with a longer
charnging time than by using a large current with shorter
charngine time. The current value is arraanged by a
rheostat.
3) During the charging, the consentration of sulfuric acid will
increase,meanwhile the solution’s level height decrease.
Therefore, on a certain level hight, we need to add distiled
water into the accumulator.
4) The unit for accumulator’s capacity is ampere hour (AH).
If an accumulator has a capacity of 60 AH, then the
accumulator is able to operate for 60 hours an current of 1
A or it can operate for 0 hours an a 2 A.
2. Recharged Battery
We can recharge the battery by reversing the chemical reaction
inside the battery. This some examples of rechargeable
batteries are :

1) Nickel – Cadmium (Ni-Cd) Battery

This type of battery is very popular because it produces a
very large current and can be recharged. A nickel-cadmium
(Ni-Cd) battery consist of nickel hydroxide ( Ni (OH)2) as
a positive electrode. And cadmium hydroxide ( Cd(OH)2)
as a negative electrode. The electrolyte for this type of
battery is potassium hydroxide (KOH). The output voltage
from Ni-Cd battery is about 1.25 V. Several electronic
devices taht use Ni-Cd battery are calculators, digital
camera, radios, laptops, and electric drills.

2) Nickel-Metal Hydride (Ni-MH) Battery

Nickel- Metal Hydride ( Ni-MH) battery is an alternate of
Nickel Cadmium (Ni-Cd) battery. The srength of Ni-MH
battery compared to Ni-Cd battery is on output voltage. It
has a higher output voltage about 1.4 V.
A Ni-MH battery consist of metal hydride as a positive
electrode and nickle oxide hydroxide (NiO(OH)) as a
negative electrode. The electrolyte for this battery is
potassium hydroxide (KOH). Some examples of electronic
 devices that use Ni-MH battery are cellular phones,
laptops, digital cameras, and electric drills.

3) Lithium-Ion Battery
A lithium-ion battery comprises lithium metal oxide
(LiMn2O4) as a positive electrode and lithium (Li) as a
negative electrode. A lithium perchalorate (LiCLO4) serves
as the electrolyte. The output voltage from this type of
battery is about 3.7 V. Some electronic devices taht use
lithium-ion batteries are laptops, cellular phones, and
radios.

C. Reference
Budi Prasodjo, dkk. 2009. Physics 3 For Junior High School Year IX.
Jakarta: Yudhistira.