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I tested it with NiZN batteries:

After they ran out of power, I measured their voltage. 0.9V.

I waited 15 minutes, measured again without charging, and it was at 1.5V.

I continued operating a CD player, and it ran for three more minutes on the exact same batteries.

How exactly did the battery manage to seemingly get power out of nowhere?

neverMind9
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    Actually, answers to the other question do not explain anything, only allegorically. They do mention "diffusion", but failed to mention that an alkaline battery is not an one-dimensional thing, it is a bulky three-dimensional construction, where some parts of chemistry are more remote to electrodes collecting current than others. And if an area close to electrodes gets depleted, the chemistry gets re-distributed if no more load is applied with slow diffusion process, and local electrode potentials are restored to some degree, which allows a device to run for a few more minutes. – Ale..chenski Jan 17 '18 at 03:15
  • @AliChen. If you have a more complete answer you should post it as an answer, not as a comment. I vote to keep this post open until this issue is resolved. Note that the OP is referring to Nickel-Zinc batteries, not alkaline. –  Jan 17 '18 at 04:34
  • @Sparky256, I don't have more complete answer, and I don't know details of solid-state chemistry in particular battery, where and when different barriers are formed, and where the reaction actually occur. That's why I just commented. The comment should apply however to any primary cell with complex 3-dimensional distribution of chemical reagents. Hopefully someone more knowledgeable can answer this question. – Ale..chenski Jan 17 '18 at 04:45
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    @AliChen. I know that in a completely dead battery of most any material, salts tend to form in tiny areas, then expand with time. They can act like short-circuits to an attempt to re-charge the battery. Li-Ion batteries have this issue as well as lead-acid. –  Jan 17 '18 at 05:01
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    Voltage and capacity are NOT the same thing. The voltage recovery seen in a battery when the load is removed does not add capacity to the cell. – user57037 Jan 17 '18 at 06:13
  • All batteries and e-caps alike have a "double-layer effect" a.k.a. memory effect but some are much less than others so advertised as having no memory effects, but still do to some extent. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_layer_(surface_science) – Tony Stewart EE75 Jan 17 '18 at 16:05

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