Interesting factoids and clarifications: 1) Although the electrons can travel at close to the speed of light, the rate at which the battery charges and discharges is often limited by the speed that lithium can travel between the electrodes through the electrolyte solution. When the battery is fully charged, the nickel oxide is starved of electrons, which can impact the lithium ion motion. 2) "Like a drop of ink dispersing in water." Lithium ions diffuse through a liquid, but there's a bit more going on here. The concentration gradient drives the lithium ions to the opposite electrode and is strengthened by the electrical field between the electrodes. That is, it's as if the ions are being pumped from one electrode to the other. 3) "When an electrical pathway opens between the anode and cathode, all the electrons between the cathode and anode sense the energy imbalance." What I'm referring to here is the complex dynamics of the electromagnetic fields that flow in and around the the electrical pathway between the cathode and anode. I anthropomorphised as a shortcut because electromagnetism would be another video entirely. 4) I used the chemistry definition of electropositive and electronegative in this video, which are different from the physics definition.

It took me months of reading to understand these concepts. Now you have distilled it in a single video. What an incredible animation. Especially the SEI layer and intercalation examples. Your channel is awesome. I never miss a video!

Hey Jordan, I taught chemistry at the high school level for 30 years and I definitely would have used this video with my students. Great job!

I am a lithium-ion battery engineer, and I think this is the best video I watched so far!

Wow … just wow. Well done sir.

Wow, you have achieved a new level of professionalism with this video, Jordan! Yes, more like this one, please! Loved it! This is worthy of a BBC science documentary.

This is undoubtedly the best piece of content ever created on the topic. Bravo

This is an AMAZING video, and should be shown in all schools since how Li-Ion batteries are everywhere and knowledge of how they work has become something everyone needs to know.

The visual concepts are extraordinary

WOW Jordon, this was so well done!!! Shout out to all the Patreon supporters and experts who gave their time, talent and financial support so that this information is available to us. I appreciate what every EV battery maker is doing even more now and better understand the immense hurdles they had to have faced to make this complex process even better and more reliable.

This is the most thorough explanation of how Lithium batteries work that I've seen in my months-long investigation of how batteries work. Great Job!

Great work Jordan. Amazing to think each frame of the video had to be designed from scratch. This is a true masterpiece.

Absolutely breathtaking. Hard concepts are much more interesting and easier to understand when done this way.

Jordon if I was a teacher/professor of science your video series would be part of my lesson plan. It is just so GOOD! I get excited just seeing that you have a new video since I know I am going to be informed and entertained. Your presentations just keep getting better. I can only imagine how many hours this all takes. THANK YOU!

Wow, this video explains so many of the things I have wondering about. One of my own major aha-moments was when I realized that the electrolyte allows ion-travel, but does not conduct electrons which is why the electrons are forced to travel externally and do actual work. Glad to see that you also included that insight. Absolutely amazing work!

As someone who's just getting started in trying to become an electrochemical/ battery engineer, this is one of the coolest and most helpful videos I've ever seen. You've done an incredible job of explaining it all, and big props to you and the people who created all the animations!!

You know that you're doing something right when other great UKpostsrs are in the comments saying that you're doing it right 👍 Great job Jordan

Brilliant video! This is by far the best description of battery chemistry I've ever seen.

Spectacular. Guaranteed to inspire more than a few budding materials scientists out there. Thanks for this! PS loved the Helmholtz layer cameo. Ha!

Jordan, I was absolutely BLOWN AWAY by this video!!! I cannot recall seeing a more clean and easy to understand explanation of fundamental battery physics and chemistry. I totally agree that a battery is analogous to a biological system in its nano-scale physical transformations. I would totally support ($) and love to see more videos like this. Congrats to you, Artem, Evgeny, and Evgeniy. This is better than Science Channel production values. 👏👏👏 Very curious about the SEI layer formation. Is it stable after facility formation, or still contributing to early battery capacity degradation in first cycles or use?

To say this is amazing does not do it justice. This is visually better than multi-million dollar education programing channels. Just, wow! And don't miss the excellent sound design work that went into it as well!

How can I like this a thousand times?

Jordan, You understand the power of a metaphor. Your example of water breaking on a beach was really helpful. Thanks for dumbing down the chemistry for me. I feel like I get it better than I ever have. Metaphors….keep ‘em coming. Michael McKinney

I've been subbed to this channel for a couple years and this video is next-level. If this isn't deserving of a couple bucks on Patreon then I don't know what is. Thank you for the amazing content.

I've read about how batteries work, but I've never really understood it until I watched this video. It finally "clicked" for me. Great work, Jordan!

Beautifully executed, Jordan! Artem did great putting the animations together, and they help to make this information so much more accessible!

This is great work Jordan. Thumbs up.

I feel like I just spent another semester in EE again. Extremely well done with all your visuals.

That was straight up and above 3blue1brown quality, truly perfectly animated and clearly understandable.

AMAZING VIDEO!!!! The animations are out of this world and explination of how things work was clear and concise. Excellent job, I truly mean a very excellent job.

Truly excellent video! I'll be using it as a reference. Thank you for all the time and effort this must have taken!

Wow! The quality is AMAZING! This should drop into schools and technical institutes everywhere. Well done!

I'm shocked, I didn't expect such a high quality production. Congratulations.

So many physics and chemistry concepts explained in a clear concise way. Keep up the good work and production quality!

This is the best explanation ever of how a Li-Ion battery works. I am super happy to be a patreon. More please.

This is absolutely the best education video of the year, especially with the scaling of battery usage.

Wow congratulations Jordan! This is really good work much respect. I'm a frequent watcher of you and I thought I had a good grasp on batteries but watching this filled a lot of gaps I didn't know existed. Atomic level definitely needs a rewatch, made me realise how little I know there. It also made me realise there actually are different atomic and electrical pathways. Please do continue, really good work.

This video is amazing, and that is an extreme understatement. Thank you for your hard work. Your channel deserves millions of subscribers. Please make more videos like these. Your contribution to the youtube community is immense.

This should be used in schools. Well done to all involved

I like how if someone has been a subscriber of your channel for the last year or two that none of this is new to us. But it takes all the important parts about what makes a battery work and packages it up nicely in a reasonable length video that we can share with people who aren't battery nerds.

The channel has just reached another level! Congrats to the graphics and sound design, your voice carrys the narration very well. Impressed overall.

Well, that was incredible. Those graphic animations are unbelievably good.

30 seconds in, i'm watching a movie ! Gonna have to put this up on the big scree with surround sound haha quality just went through the roof ! Thank you

I hold a master in electrical engineering, and this is the best explanation of sub atomic behavior for batteries I have seen in my life. You sir, are an internet treasure.

One of your best videos! The graphics and animations are great.

Best tutorial ever, thanks alot for explaining this stuff in an easy-to-understand way

Best explanation of lithium batteries I've seen. Keep up the outstanding work.

WOW! Stunning! Thank you Jordan and everybody who lent support to this amazing video. Fantastic job!

Never expected someone could explain it in such a way, great respect and thanks!

Compiling these details and outlining them with collegiate and general examples work wonders in helping accelerate the concept (and biological) functioning of Li-ion. Sublime work here.

This is the BEST animation on battery out here! PLEASE KEEP MAKING THEM!!!

As always, your animations are simply the best, in the entire world. You are a master at turning knowledge into a visual medium, much more readily absorbed. I thank you.

Hi Jordan, at the start, when you talk about electrons, your narrative goes "Electrons zip around the nucleus at thousands of kilometres a second." So: I do appreciate that you are up against the problem of how to describe electron orbitals. The aspect that is important for electrochemistry is that the Coulomb force (electrostatic force) falls off with distance. I recommend that a narrative concentrates on that. About orbitals: The closest analogy to an electron orbital is a standing wave. For an electron orbital the concept of 'speed of the electron' does not apply. From the time before quantum mechanics: if the electron is modeled as _orbiting_ the nucleus, then from the diameter of the atom, and the strength of the Coulomb force at that distance, a necessary speed of circumnavigation can be inferred. However, for the quantumechanical orbital that speed has no meaning. There is a quite accessible discussion that I recommend: 'the Bohr atom' written by Michael Fowler. (Can't give a link; youtube comments with a link disappear.) The important property is that the amount of energy that is required to rob a Lithium atom of its outer electron is consistent with the inverse square law of the Coulomb force. The two electrons of the lowest energy level shield the nucleus, so that effectively the outer electron is attracted by 1 unit of positive charge. That and the distance of the outer electron makes it relatively easy to rob a lithium atom of its outer electron. As you describe: there is no barrier to the Lithium ions going into solution in the electrolyte. Conversely, for electrons there is a steep energy barrier to dissolve into the electrolyte. (I assume an electron must happen to find an atom that will accept an electron (and become a negatively charged ion) in order for the electron to make it into the electrolyte. I assume the electrolyte is designed to make formation of such negatively charged ions energetically unfavorable.) Upon discharging of the battery the Lithium ions start claiming their electron back. As Lithium ions go out of solution (and reconstitute themselves to lithium atoms) a gradient developes in the electrolyte, and then Lithium atoms migrate down that gradient.

Jordan, that was fantastic! So insightful. Your content is going from strength to strength. Epic job. Really well done mate.

The BEST Li-ion battery explainer video on the internet!!! Can we all agree???

Excellent simulation. I only recently discovered how electron shell configurations are the drivers for modern chemistry. Your video demonstrated the complex chemical/quantum system that Lion batteries are designed around.

What a phenomenal video Jordan! The amazing visuals plus explanation has made things click from abstract to fathomable. Huge props to you and the team for this one 🙌🏽🎉

What an amazing video!!! The visuals, the flow of the text... just perfect! Oh and did I mention the visuals? Yes please more of this stuff! 🙏

To me it was a light show with the talk track in another language ! I would so love to be able to grasp more of this beautiful presentation but nearing 70 years in it’s doubtful. Still it’s an honer to dwell amongst you clever kids ! Salutations ! ☀️

Well done on this video! The visuals are impeccable!

Wow, that was a really fantastic piece

That was an unusually good video, unlike anything I've ever viewed on lithium batteries. Excellent, and I'd love to see more like it!

Imagine if we got a full course at school with this level of quality

So professional with incredibly appealing animation that taught a lot of information. thank you so much

I've been looking forward to seeing this video since you first mentioned it in other videos months ago. Definitely worth the wait! You found the perfect balance of depth and clarity. Looking forward to more!

My always knowledge craving brain says : Next level. Keep going Sir. This was one of the best videos I have ever seen. And I have seen a lot of them. Applause for You.

This was a straight up EXPERIENCE fam...thank you for putting this together! Hope all is well stud!

Truly awesome! Please do more like it!

Wow, your mastery in explaining is truly impressive! After a decade in battery research, this is the clearest explanation I've encountered. Excellent work!🎉😊

I love all of your videos, but the quality of this one is really impresive in every aspect. Thanks!!

Thank you, a very easy to understand treatment of a complex subject, the animations make it much easier to understand. Top notch production values.

Wow, the visual effects were popping and your dulcet tones voice over made one incredible package. I see this video being played in schoolrooms around the world!! Congrats on reaching some incredible production values with this video, you've set the bar really high. Thanks again for everything you do in this space.

As always Jordan you have raised the bar again for UKposts video quality. Not only was the animation fantastic and explanation clear (I've got to watch it again and again to get it) Your choice of music is right up my ally.

I am currently working on Li ion battery development field, and this is super helpful. Great video.

Thank you for creating this! I'm always hunting for accessible video illustrations of complex science and they're hard to come by. This video sets a new bar. Would have been an incredible achievement for a team of animators, so the fact that you solo'd this blows my mind.

Thanks Jordan, this was very helpful to me. The only suggestion I have is you might have explained what an ion is before using the term. I think you have explained this in a previous video but an explanation here might have helped this video stand on its own.

Well done!! As always, your videos are amazing and I look forward to each and every one!!! I’m stoked you’re continuing to work with Shirley, what an amazing connection you made there! These visuals are amazing and makes it so much easier (at least for me) to understand.. You have a great team you’re working with and kudos for acknowledging each and everyone of them!

This is insanely good. I am amazed that community sponsored education has gotten to this level

Simultaneously the longest and the shortest 15 mins I have experienced on youtube. Great job.

Thank you & the whole team! I can only image the many hours it has taken to explain this complex material in such an easy to understand way. Making things simple is really hard!!

Well worth the effort you all put into this. Thanks for your fantastic contribution to science communication and the EV space Jordan!

Kudos, Jordan! Your best work/video/compilation so far (which still mean that your other content is also top notch)!

Wow just wow. Music was super awesome element too; 100/100. this is truly beyond TV.

Kudos! EXCELLENT video explanation! One thing I felt was missing and thought you'd touch on, was dendrite formation. But still the best explanation I've come across. Keep up the great work!

This is absolutely glorious! Incredible effort. Love it! Recommending it to everyone I know.

This is amazing in detail and visualisation. The clarity by which the process is described is incredible. Epic! Thank you Jordan.

Very nice and concise explanation of some difficult "magic". Thanks for making the video and sharing it with the world.

In another video, perhaps you could explain why Lithium is currently the favorite element for batteries. What about other elements that are near Lithium on the periodic table? Pros & cons. What about future prospects?

My visualization of the electron movement is like the six ball pendulum toy, where you swing the ball on one end and the ball on the opposite end instantly reacts. Except in this case the electron doesn't swing back but rather circles around and hits the next one in line.

Great video! Impressive teamwork and grafics 💪

I have never seen any detailed explanation with such an amazing animated stuff. Superb work.

Nice visuals, but lets keep in mind that the nucleus of a hydrogen atom is 10^5 smaller then the atom itself, so for a proton as pictured (about 5 mm diameter on my screen) the actual orbit of the electron will have a rdius of about 250m.

Amazing video and animations! What would be a great addition or part 2 which I still struggle a bit is how the cathode materials impact the real life behaviour and performance. E.g. what happens at the chemical level with LFP vs NMC battery and what is the actual difference?

Jordan, coming from a quantum chemistry PhD, chemistry educator, long time Tesla follower, and Tesla owner, you absolutely nailed it with this video. What an amazing production. Thank you for the great work to distill everything here into an appropriately in-depth yet still digestible format for general audiences. A great resource and discussion with just enough detail to see the general picture, and provide the right terms for further inquiry, without getting too bogged down in nuanced technical details. Bravo.

Just wow! Thank you so much Jordan, this quality absolutely incredible!

Absolutely amazing video, Jordan. Please make more of these. Question 1: Why are Li Ions (and their electrons) from the cathode forced towards the anode when I plug in my battery? I understand the release of potential energy from the anode to the cathode, but I don't understand it the other way around. Question 2: Can you explain in more detail the Electrolyte Solution, and how it plays a role in creating the Solid Electrolyte Interface upon the first charging cycle? I'd like to know more as to how the Vinylene Carbonate helps to create the Solid Electrolyte Interface. Thanks so much!

This is amazing, thanks for this! Will definitely be coming back to this every now and then and hope my understanding grows. Biggest confusing factors for me still are the way those electrons / ions are able to move. I understand for the electrons, they "push" each other forwards, a bit like tennis balls in a tube? Then a (different) electron would arrive at the annode near-instantly when one frees up from the cathode, but how and how fast do the ions travel through the electrolyte?

Best visualization I’ve seen on UKposts yet. Amazing work! Helps me as an engineering student a ton. Thank you.

By far the best, most intuitive, explanation of lithium battery chemistry and physics. One of the best channels on UKposts just kicked it up several notches. More please Jordan,!

That video should be mandatory in schools.