Why do batteries go dead in an unused flashlight while the rest of the batteries still in the pack stay good?

submitted by raven9 from self.AskSaidIt

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[–]bobbobbybob 3 insightful - 4 fun3 insightful - 3 fun4 insightful - 4 fun -  (3 children)

They most likely are connected by metal which itself has a low resistance, even when turned off.

are you high?

When a flash light is turned off, there is NO CONNECTION. so your explanation needs to cover what allows the 'creep current'. There is no difference in the internal configuration of a battery in a pack or in a torch.

Is it migration of environmental electrons, limited by the surface area of the electrodes?

Because that would make sense. When plugged into a torch, the +ve and =ve surface areas increase by the SA of all the connected metal. There is no connection between +ve and -ve, otherwise the light would be ON.

In a battery box, the surface area is minimal, as the electrodes are just a button and a flat plate.

Will go find real science to verify

[–][deleted] 1 insightful - 3 fun1 insightful - 2 fun2 insightful - 3 fun -  (2 children)

There is a phenomenon called Brownian motion and above that entropy.

Turned "off" in quantum physical terms means "mostly turned off". It doesn't even relate to a surface, as easily is proven with a statistical integral.

[–]bobbobbybob 2 insightful - 2 fun2 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 2 fun -  (0 children)

you've failed to bring any real science to the table.

So here am I, with a masters degree from the university of cambridge, in Natural Sciences, with another Msc and 7 years of research, with one of my papers quoted in nature, and there you, a student with a head so big he has to thrash his cock on an internet forum to get validation.

If you want to bring hyperdimensional mathematics into this, bring it. I spent years working with it. Specifically with wave function solutions in 5d topologies.

If you are trying to imply that electrons are going to tunnel across a unclosed switch, then say it. i'm happy to stand corrected if you can demonstrate, mathematically, that quantum tunneling has a perceptible effect over the lifetime of a pack of batteries.

so. Bring it, maggot. bring some fucking science, not a dictionary