Electrons from the lithium leave the anode and pass through a phone, bike, or whatever device the battery is powering, before reentering the battery at the cathode.

The Expanding Silicon Hope Typical batteries consist of a lithium (Li) metal cathode and an anode separated by a liquid electrolyte that transfers lithium between the two electrodes.

These cracks allowed a lithium-metal “bridge” to form between the anode and cathode, causing a short circuit. The results were published in the journal Nature Energy.

(The electrolyte allows the reaction to continue by letting ions pass between the anode and cathode.) ...