On 03/10/2017 10:16, whisky-dave wrote:
On Monday, 2 October 2017 17:07:20 UTC+1, James Wilkinson Sword wrote:

Some people are scared of technology. I was also told mixing a half used Duracell with a new one would cause an explosion as the emptier one would eventually get reverse charged. Apparently this did happen in a calculator, which I find hard to believe as the current going through it would be tiny.

Well you shouldn't try to charge non rechargable batteries, but I do remember a device you could buy that was said to recharge old alkaline batteries.

A bit dangerous I would have thought. There was a vogue a few years ago
of devices to charge the zinc carbon type. If you charge them at a low
rate it reverses the depolarising function of the manganese dioxide, do
the cell should last until the electrolyte eats through the zinc case
and leaks.

In WW2 they did this for the torch batteries used by watchmen &c.
Apparently if you start this long before they are exhausted you can
extend the lifespan many fold.

--
Max Demian