ScienceMan.com - Neat Ideas!

Ever wonder what's inside a dry cell? Apologies to the Energizer bunny, but here is a cell that has been chopped in half;

The parts are a little different from the old zinc-carbon cells;

A - combination zinc powder/alkaline electrolyte paste where electrons are released (anode).
B - brass conducting rod where the released electrons are collected.
C - hard to see in the above diagram, but this is a fabric that separates anode from cathode.
D - mixture of manganese dioxide and carbon, where the electrons are absorbed (cathode).
E - the negative terminal, where the electrons leave.
F - the positive terminal, where the electrons return

Here's a neat page from the IEEE vitual museum that is a great summary of battery chemistry.

Updated February 20, 2006