Why battery’s internal resistance decreases with temperature?

AI Thread Summary
Battery internal resistance decreases with temperature due to increased electron mobility, which enhances the speed of electrochemical reactions within the cell. This phenomenon aligns with the Arrhenius equation, indicating that reaction rates rise with temperature, leading to improved current transport and lower resistance. Unlike metals, where resistance typically increases with temperature, batteries exhibit this unique behavior because they are chemical devices. Additionally, while internal resistance decreases, the cell voltage remains only weakly dependent on temperature. Understanding these principles clarifies the apparent contradiction in resistance behavior.
bobfei
Messages
29
Reaction score
0
Hi,

Does battery internal resistance obey the general resistance-temperature rule?

For metal, resistance usually increases with temperature (see wikipedia).

For batteries however, its internal resistance decreases with temperature (also see wikipedia).

Could anyone explain the contradiction?


Bob
 
Physics news on Phys.org
The resistance of any galvanic cell such as a battery decreases as temperature increases due to increased electron mobility at higher temps.

The increased electron mobility means that the electrochemical reactions inside the cell can happen faster or easier (not sure which one it is, someone else might know) which means the internal resistance is effectively reduced.
 
Last edited:
trollcast said:
The resistance of any galvanic cell such as a battery decreases as temperature increases due to increased electron mobility at higher temps.

The increased electron mobility means that the electrochemical reactions inside the cell can happen faster or easier (not sure which one it is, someone else might know vague) which means the internal resistance is effectively reduced.

Then they are consistent. Thank you!

Bob
 
Batteries are chemical devices that rely on chemical reactions to produce their 'electricity'.

Chemical reactions mostly obey the Arrhenius equation which says that the rate of reaction increases with temperature.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrhenius_equation

So the faster the reactions the better the current transport and the lower the effective resistance.

Note that the cell voltage is only weakly dependent on temperature.
 
Last edited:
Studiot,

I just read the wiki article and got a better understanding. Thanks!

Bob
 
This is from Griffiths' Electrodynamics, 3rd edition, page 352. I am trying to calculate the divergence of the Maxwell stress tensor. The tensor is given as ##T_{ij} =\epsilon_0 (E_iE_j-\frac 1 2 \delta_{ij} E^2)+\frac 1 {\mu_0}(B_iB_j-\frac 1 2 \delta_{ij} B^2)##. To make things easier, I just want to focus on the part with the electrical field, i.e. I want to find the divergence of ##E_{ij}=E_iE_j-\frac 1 2 \delta_{ij}E^2##. In matrix form, this tensor should look like this...
Thread 'Applying the Gauss (1835) formula for force between 2 parallel DC currents'
Please can anyone either:- (1) point me to a derivation of the perpendicular force (Fy) between two very long parallel wires carrying steady currents utilising the formula of Gauss for the force F along the line r between 2 charges? Or alternatively (2) point out where I have gone wrong in my method? I am having problems with calculating the direction and magnitude of the force as expected from modern (Biot-Savart-Maxwell-Lorentz) formula. Here is my method and results so far:- This...
Back
Top