According to German media reports, a small suggestion about life was spread on German websites recently: in order to determine whether a lithium-ion battery pack is an empty battery that should be discarded, people can drop the battery 20 cm from the ground. If the rebound of the battery after touching the ground is very high, then the battery is an empty battery. If the battery is not bounced, it is proved to be a new battery.

The event aroused the interest of scientists. They re verified in the laboratory, using slow camera to record the movement track of empty battery and new battery falling from the table. The results show that the height of the empty battery being ejected from the ground is indeed higher than that of the new battery.

In order to further verify the rationality of this statement, American researchers conducted more in-depth research. The researchers let two lithium-ion batteries fall in a plexiglass tube, and measured the first and second rebound heights in the process. In addition, the researchers added several control groups in the experiment: three batteries with 70%, 80% and 90% electricity respectively.

Finally, the experimental results show that whether it is a common disposable battery or a lithium ion battery, as long as the battery has half of its power, it can be bounced up to a certain height by the ground, but the height is different. The researchers explained this phenomenon, saying that the positive pole of household batteries is composed of zinc, which exists in the battery gel. The battery gel will reduce the impact of the fully charged battery on the ground, so the fully charged battery will not bounce off the ground.

In the process of battery discharge, a large amount of zinc element contained in the battery reacts with oxygen to form zinc oxide, which is a rigid substance and can make the battery rebound higher.

At the same time, the researchers also said that this experiment could not be used as a standard for whether batteries should be discarded. The real significance of the experiment was how to distinguish between waste lithium-ion battery packs and new batteries.