A cell phone battery uses chemistry to create a charge separation between the terminals
Answers
A lot happens inside a battery when you pop it into your flashlight, remote control or other wire-free device. While the processes by which they produce electricity differ slightly from battery to battery, the basic idea remains the same.
When a load completes the circuit between the two terminals, the battery produces electricity through a series of electromagnetic reactions between the anode, cathode and electrolyte. The anode experiences an oxidation reaction in which two or more ions (electrically charged atoms or molecules) from the electrolyte combine with the anode, producing a compound and releasing one or more electrons. At the same time, the cathode goes through a reduction reaction in which the cathode substance, ions and free electrons also combine to form compounds. While this action may sound complicated, it's actually very simple: The reaction in the anode creates electrons, and the reaction in the cathode absorbs them. The net product is electricity. The battery will continue to produce electricity until one or both of the electrodes run out of the substance necessary for the reactions to occur.