Does the negative end of a battery works better than a capacitive stylus because of electric charge?












0














I have a tablet with a capacitive touchscreen. I bought a wacom bamboo stylus duo which I thought was a good stylus. But the effect is rather disappointing. I get broken lines all over the screen when trying to draw.



I saw some DIY posts suggesting using the negative end of a battery as stylus. It works. And it works better than all my capacitive stylus.



But I wonder how it works? As the outside of the battery should be non-conductive? I tried wrapping it with another piece of paper and I can still use it as stylus. So it seems to me that the negative charge on the battery is doing the work. But then, if I tape the negative end of the battery to my capacitive stylus, it didn't help. Why?










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  • 2




    There is in fact no "negative charge" at the negative end of a battery. Energy is stored in a battery as differences in the strengths of chemical bonds, not as electrical charge. Once you establish a conductive path between the battery's poles, then a chemical reaction happens that generates voltage (formally called "electromotive force") that pushes electrons out of the negative pole and pulls them into the positive pole. But without the conductive path, none of that happens. It's counterintuitive, but there is no net electrical charge in a charged battery, only a chemical one.
    – Jamie Hanrahan
    Aug 4 '15 at 1:46
















0














I have a tablet with a capacitive touchscreen. I bought a wacom bamboo stylus duo which I thought was a good stylus. But the effect is rather disappointing. I get broken lines all over the screen when trying to draw.



I saw some DIY posts suggesting using the negative end of a battery as stylus. It works. And it works better than all my capacitive stylus.



But I wonder how it works? As the outside of the battery should be non-conductive? I tried wrapping it with another piece of paper and I can still use it as stylus. So it seems to me that the negative charge on the battery is doing the work. But then, if I tape the negative end of the battery to my capacitive stylus, it didn't help. Why?










share|improve this question


















  • 2




    There is in fact no "negative charge" at the negative end of a battery. Energy is stored in a battery as differences in the strengths of chemical bonds, not as electrical charge. Once you establish a conductive path between the battery's poles, then a chemical reaction happens that generates voltage (formally called "electromotive force") that pushes electrons out of the negative pole and pulls them into the positive pole. But without the conductive path, none of that happens. It's counterintuitive, but there is no net electrical charge in a charged battery, only a chemical one.
    – Jamie Hanrahan
    Aug 4 '15 at 1:46














0












0








0







I have a tablet with a capacitive touchscreen. I bought a wacom bamboo stylus duo which I thought was a good stylus. But the effect is rather disappointing. I get broken lines all over the screen when trying to draw.



I saw some DIY posts suggesting using the negative end of a battery as stylus. It works. And it works better than all my capacitive stylus.



But I wonder how it works? As the outside of the battery should be non-conductive? I tried wrapping it with another piece of paper and I can still use it as stylus. So it seems to me that the negative charge on the battery is doing the work. But then, if I tape the negative end of the battery to my capacitive stylus, it didn't help. Why?










share|improve this question













I have a tablet with a capacitive touchscreen. I bought a wacom bamboo stylus duo which I thought was a good stylus. But the effect is rather disappointing. I get broken lines all over the screen when trying to draw.



I saw some DIY posts suggesting using the negative end of a battery as stylus. It works. And it works better than all my capacitive stylus.



But I wonder how it works? As the outside of the battery should be non-conductive? I tried wrapping it with another piece of paper and I can still use it as stylus. So it seems to me that the negative charge on the battery is doing the work. But then, if I tape the negative end of the battery to my capacitive stylus, it didn't help. Why?







touchscreen stylus






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asked Aug 4 '15 at 0:45









some usersome user

1,16731124




1,16731124








  • 2




    There is in fact no "negative charge" at the negative end of a battery. Energy is stored in a battery as differences in the strengths of chemical bonds, not as electrical charge. Once you establish a conductive path between the battery's poles, then a chemical reaction happens that generates voltage (formally called "electromotive force") that pushes electrons out of the negative pole and pulls them into the positive pole. But without the conductive path, none of that happens. It's counterintuitive, but there is no net electrical charge in a charged battery, only a chemical one.
    – Jamie Hanrahan
    Aug 4 '15 at 1:46














  • 2




    There is in fact no "negative charge" at the negative end of a battery. Energy is stored in a battery as differences in the strengths of chemical bonds, not as electrical charge. Once you establish a conductive path between the battery's poles, then a chemical reaction happens that generates voltage (formally called "electromotive force") that pushes electrons out of the negative pole and pulls them into the positive pole. But without the conductive path, none of that happens. It's counterintuitive, but there is no net electrical charge in a charged battery, only a chemical one.
    – Jamie Hanrahan
    Aug 4 '15 at 1:46








2




2




There is in fact no "negative charge" at the negative end of a battery. Energy is stored in a battery as differences in the strengths of chemical bonds, not as electrical charge. Once you establish a conductive path between the battery's poles, then a chemical reaction happens that generates voltage (formally called "electromotive force") that pushes electrons out of the negative pole and pulls them into the positive pole. But without the conductive path, none of that happens. It's counterintuitive, but there is no net electrical charge in a charged battery, only a chemical one.
– Jamie Hanrahan
Aug 4 '15 at 1:46




There is in fact no "negative charge" at the negative end of a battery. Energy is stored in a battery as differences in the strengths of chemical bonds, not as electrical charge. Once you establish a conductive path between the battery's poles, then a chemical reaction happens that generates voltage (formally called "electromotive force") that pushes electrons out of the negative pole and pulls them into the positive pole. But without the conductive path, none of that happens. It's counterintuitive, but there is no net electrical charge in a charged battery, only a chemical one.
– Jamie Hanrahan
Aug 4 '15 at 1:46










2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes


















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OK, you asked a bunch of questions.



Lets start with how capacitive touch screens work. Read more here.




Capacitive touch screens work with anything that holds an electrical charge – including human skin. There are two main types of capacitive touch screens – surface and projective. Surface capacitive uses sensors at the corners and a thin evenly distributed film across the surface (as pictured above) whereas projective capacitive uses a grid of rows and columns with a separate chip for sensing.




So, a capacitive touch screens will work with your styles and your finger and many other things, like.... your battery.



This leads to your second question: shouldnt the outside of the battery be non-conductive? To put it simply, a battery HAS to be conductive or it wouldnt be a battery. Now, only the ends are conductive, otherwise the battery would just short out. Since the ends are made out of metal, which can hold a conductive charge... see where I am going? That is why the battery works as a stylus.



So you taped the battery to the end of your stylus and it didnt help. Why? More than likely you "confused" touchscreen. Both the battery and the stylus (which has a conductive material inside it) were interacting with the screen and the chip controlling the touchscreen had issues dealing with the input.



If your stylus isnt working as well as you would like, go to a computer or office supply store, or online of course. They often have replacement styluses for different products that might work for you.






share|improve this answer

















  • 1




    The end of the battery might also scratch the surface of whatever you use. Good phone glass is supposed to be resistant to it but practically this sounds like a terrible idea.
    – Journeyman Geek
    Aug 4 '15 at 1:55










  • @Keltari. Just to make it clear. When I use the battery as a stylus, my hand is not touching the +ve end of the battery. What you are saying is that when I tape my battery to my stylus, because my hand and the battery are both supplying a electrical charge, they interfere with each other? In that case, I should get a better performance if I use my stylus with a rubber glove. But it does not appear so.
    – some user
    Aug 4 '15 at 15:57



















0














Negative end of a battery doesn't contain negative charges. for example you cannot drain a battery by connecting it's negative end to ground. charge inside a battery is created by a chemical reaction and for the reaction to happen both negative and positive ends of the same battery must be connected with each other.



but somehow what you are asking does make sense. because capacitive touch panels recognises the voltage difference between users finger and the capacitive grid it can recognize a battery as a finger not because of its negative charge because it is charged in the same way as your finger due to its conductive metal casing and it's very short length.



how ever we can make a negatively charged stylus using a capacitor instead of a battery. since capacitors actually store charges between their plates.

you should try the same experiment with the negative leg of a charged capacitor and see if the result are any better.



also i'm not an electronics geek. i apollajoice before hand if any technical term i used here is wrong.






share|improve this answer





















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    2 Answers
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    2 Answers
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    active

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    0














    OK, you asked a bunch of questions.



    Lets start with how capacitive touch screens work. Read more here.




    Capacitive touch screens work with anything that holds an electrical charge – including human skin. There are two main types of capacitive touch screens – surface and projective. Surface capacitive uses sensors at the corners and a thin evenly distributed film across the surface (as pictured above) whereas projective capacitive uses a grid of rows and columns with a separate chip for sensing.




    So, a capacitive touch screens will work with your styles and your finger and many other things, like.... your battery.



    This leads to your second question: shouldnt the outside of the battery be non-conductive? To put it simply, a battery HAS to be conductive or it wouldnt be a battery. Now, only the ends are conductive, otherwise the battery would just short out. Since the ends are made out of metal, which can hold a conductive charge... see where I am going? That is why the battery works as a stylus.



    So you taped the battery to the end of your stylus and it didnt help. Why? More than likely you "confused" touchscreen. Both the battery and the stylus (which has a conductive material inside it) were interacting with the screen and the chip controlling the touchscreen had issues dealing with the input.



    If your stylus isnt working as well as you would like, go to a computer or office supply store, or online of course. They often have replacement styluses for different products that might work for you.






    share|improve this answer

















    • 1




      The end of the battery might also scratch the surface of whatever you use. Good phone glass is supposed to be resistant to it but practically this sounds like a terrible idea.
      – Journeyman Geek
      Aug 4 '15 at 1:55










    • @Keltari. Just to make it clear. When I use the battery as a stylus, my hand is not touching the +ve end of the battery. What you are saying is that when I tape my battery to my stylus, because my hand and the battery are both supplying a electrical charge, they interfere with each other? In that case, I should get a better performance if I use my stylus with a rubber glove. But it does not appear so.
      – some user
      Aug 4 '15 at 15:57
















    0














    OK, you asked a bunch of questions.



    Lets start with how capacitive touch screens work. Read more here.




    Capacitive touch screens work with anything that holds an electrical charge – including human skin. There are two main types of capacitive touch screens – surface and projective. Surface capacitive uses sensors at the corners and a thin evenly distributed film across the surface (as pictured above) whereas projective capacitive uses a grid of rows and columns with a separate chip for sensing.




    So, a capacitive touch screens will work with your styles and your finger and many other things, like.... your battery.



    This leads to your second question: shouldnt the outside of the battery be non-conductive? To put it simply, a battery HAS to be conductive or it wouldnt be a battery. Now, only the ends are conductive, otherwise the battery would just short out. Since the ends are made out of metal, which can hold a conductive charge... see where I am going? That is why the battery works as a stylus.



    So you taped the battery to the end of your stylus and it didnt help. Why? More than likely you "confused" touchscreen. Both the battery and the stylus (which has a conductive material inside it) were interacting with the screen and the chip controlling the touchscreen had issues dealing with the input.



    If your stylus isnt working as well as you would like, go to a computer or office supply store, or online of course. They often have replacement styluses for different products that might work for you.






    share|improve this answer

















    • 1




      The end of the battery might also scratch the surface of whatever you use. Good phone glass is supposed to be resistant to it but practically this sounds like a terrible idea.
      – Journeyman Geek
      Aug 4 '15 at 1:55










    • @Keltari. Just to make it clear. When I use the battery as a stylus, my hand is not touching the +ve end of the battery. What you are saying is that when I tape my battery to my stylus, because my hand and the battery are both supplying a electrical charge, they interfere with each other? In that case, I should get a better performance if I use my stylus with a rubber glove. But it does not appear so.
      – some user
      Aug 4 '15 at 15:57














    0












    0








    0






    OK, you asked a bunch of questions.



    Lets start with how capacitive touch screens work. Read more here.




    Capacitive touch screens work with anything that holds an electrical charge – including human skin. There are two main types of capacitive touch screens – surface and projective. Surface capacitive uses sensors at the corners and a thin evenly distributed film across the surface (as pictured above) whereas projective capacitive uses a grid of rows and columns with a separate chip for sensing.




    So, a capacitive touch screens will work with your styles and your finger and many other things, like.... your battery.



    This leads to your second question: shouldnt the outside of the battery be non-conductive? To put it simply, a battery HAS to be conductive or it wouldnt be a battery. Now, only the ends are conductive, otherwise the battery would just short out. Since the ends are made out of metal, which can hold a conductive charge... see where I am going? That is why the battery works as a stylus.



    So you taped the battery to the end of your stylus and it didnt help. Why? More than likely you "confused" touchscreen. Both the battery and the stylus (which has a conductive material inside it) were interacting with the screen and the chip controlling the touchscreen had issues dealing with the input.



    If your stylus isnt working as well as you would like, go to a computer or office supply store, or online of course. They often have replacement styluses for different products that might work for you.






    share|improve this answer












    OK, you asked a bunch of questions.



    Lets start with how capacitive touch screens work. Read more here.




    Capacitive touch screens work with anything that holds an electrical charge – including human skin. There are two main types of capacitive touch screens – surface and projective. Surface capacitive uses sensors at the corners and a thin evenly distributed film across the surface (as pictured above) whereas projective capacitive uses a grid of rows and columns with a separate chip for sensing.




    So, a capacitive touch screens will work with your styles and your finger and many other things, like.... your battery.



    This leads to your second question: shouldnt the outside of the battery be non-conductive? To put it simply, a battery HAS to be conductive or it wouldnt be a battery. Now, only the ends are conductive, otherwise the battery would just short out. Since the ends are made out of metal, which can hold a conductive charge... see where I am going? That is why the battery works as a stylus.



    So you taped the battery to the end of your stylus and it didnt help. Why? More than likely you "confused" touchscreen. Both the battery and the stylus (which has a conductive material inside it) were interacting with the screen and the chip controlling the touchscreen had issues dealing with the input.



    If your stylus isnt working as well as you would like, go to a computer or office supply store, or online of course. They often have replacement styluses for different products that might work for you.







    share|improve this answer












    share|improve this answer



    share|improve this answer










    answered Aug 4 '15 at 1:39









    KeltariKeltari

    50.9k18118170




    50.9k18118170








    • 1




      The end of the battery might also scratch the surface of whatever you use. Good phone glass is supposed to be resistant to it but practically this sounds like a terrible idea.
      – Journeyman Geek
      Aug 4 '15 at 1:55










    • @Keltari. Just to make it clear. When I use the battery as a stylus, my hand is not touching the +ve end of the battery. What you are saying is that when I tape my battery to my stylus, because my hand and the battery are both supplying a electrical charge, they interfere with each other? In that case, I should get a better performance if I use my stylus with a rubber glove. But it does not appear so.
      – some user
      Aug 4 '15 at 15:57














    • 1




      The end of the battery might also scratch the surface of whatever you use. Good phone glass is supposed to be resistant to it but practically this sounds like a terrible idea.
      – Journeyman Geek
      Aug 4 '15 at 1:55










    • @Keltari. Just to make it clear. When I use the battery as a stylus, my hand is not touching the +ve end of the battery. What you are saying is that when I tape my battery to my stylus, because my hand and the battery are both supplying a electrical charge, they interfere with each other? In that case, I should get a better performance if I use my stylus with a rubber glove. But it does not appear so.
      – some user
      Aug 4 '15 at 15:57








    1




    1




    The end of the battery might also scratch the surface of whatever you use. Good phone glass is supposed to be resistant to it but practically this sounds like a terrible idea.
    – Journeyman Geek
    Aug 4 '15 at 1:55




    The end of the battery might also scratch the surface of whatever you use. Good phone glass is supposed to be resistant to it but practically this sounds like a terrible idea.
    – Journeyman Geek
    Aug 4 '15 at 1:55












    @Keltari. Just to make it clear. When I use the battery as a stylus, my hand is not touching the +ve end of the battery. What you are saying is that when I tape my battery to my stylus, because my hand and the battery are both supplying a electrical charge, they interfere with each other? In that case, I should get a better performance if I use my stylus with a rubber glove. But it does not appear so.
    – some user
    Aug 4 '15 at 15:57




    @Keltari. Just to make it clear. When I use the battery as a stylus, my hand is not touching the +ve end of the battery. What you are saying is that when I tape my battery to my stylus, because my hand and the battery are both supplying a electrical charge, they interfere with each other? In that case, I should get a better performance if I use my stylus with a rubber glove. But it does not appear so.
    – some user
    Aug 4 '15 at 15:57













    0














    Negative end of a battery doesn't contain negative charges. for example you cannot drain a battery by connecting it's negative end to ground. charge inside a battery is created by a chemical reaction and for the reaction to happen both negative and positive ends of the same battery must be connected with each other.



    but somehow what you are asking does make sense. because capacitive touch panels recognises the voltage difference between users finger and the capacitive grid it can recognize a battery as a finger not because of its negative charge because it is charged in the same way as your finger due to its conductive metal casing and it's very short length.



    how ever we can make a negatively charged stylus using a capacitor instead of a battery. since capacitors actually store charges between their plates.

    you should try the same experiment with the negative leg of a charged capacitor and see if the result are any better.



    also i'm not an electronics geek. i apollajoice before hand if any technical term i used here is wrong.






    share|improve this answer


























      0














      Negative end of a battery doesn't contain negative charges. for example you cannot drain a battery by connecting it's negative end to ground. charge inside a battery is created by a chemical reaction and for the reaction to happen both negative and positive ends of the same battery must be connected with each other.



      but somehow what you are asking does make sense. because capacitive touch panels recognises the voltage difference between users finger and the capacitive grid it can recognize a battery as a finger not because of its negative charge because it is charged in the same way as your finger due to its conductive metal casing and it's very short length.



      how ever we can make a negatively charged stylus using a capacitor instead of a battery. since capacitors actually store charges between their plates.

      you should try the same experiment with the negative leg of a charged capacitor and see if the result are any better.



      also i'm not an electronics geek. i apollajoice before hand if any technical term i used here is wrong.






      share|improve this answer
























        0












        0








        0






        Negative end of a battery doesn't contain negative charges. for example you cannot drain a battery by connecting it's negative end to ground. charge inside a battery is created by a chemical reaction and for the reaction to happen both negative and positive ends of the same battery must be connected with each other.



        but somehow what you are asking does make sense. because capacitive touch panels recognises the voltage difference between users finger and the capacitive grid it can recognize a battery as a finger not because of its negative charge because it is charged in the same way as your finger due to its conductive metal casing and it's very short length.



        how ever we can make a negatively charged stylus using a capacitor instead of a battery. since capacitors actually store charges between their plates.

        you should try the same experiment with the negative leg of a charged capacitor and see if the result are any better.



        also i'm not an electronics geek. i apollajoice before hand if any technical term i used here is wrong.






        share|improve this answer












        Negative end of a battery doesn't contain negative charges. for example you cannot drain a battery by connecting it's negative end to ground. charge inside a battery is created by a chemical reaction and for the reaction to happen both negative and positive ends of the same battery must be connected with each other.



        but somehow what you are asking does make sense. because capacitive touch panels recognises the voltage difference between users finger and the capacitive grid it can recognize a battery as a finger not because of its negative charge because it is charged in the same way as your finger due to its conductive metal casing and it's very short length.



        how ever we can make a negatively charged stylus using a capacitor instead of a battery. since capacitors actually store charges between their plates.

        you should try the same experiment with the negative leg of a charged capacitor and see if the result are any better.



        also i'm not an electronics geek. i apollajoice before hand if any technical term i used here is wrong.







        share|improve this answer












        share|improve this answer



        share|improve this answer










        answered Oct 3 '18 at 10:38









        Dhawala Tharindra RanaweeraDhawala Tharindra Ranaweera

        1




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