system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5 - What makes a rechargeable battery rechargeable? And what would happen if you tried charging a non rechargeable battery?
gpt
So batteries generate electricity because of chemical reactions they undergo. In a standard alkaline battery, zinc and manganese (IV) oxide react and produce electricity. After enough of the chemicals react that the reactions can no longer proceed, the battery is considered exhausted.

The chemical reactions can be forced to proceed in the opposite direction by forcing electric current through the battery in the other direction. This turns the chemical products back, more or less, into their original forms.

Rechargeable batteries use different chemicals than zinc and manganese oxide, ones that respond better to a reversal of current.

You *can* recharge a non-rechargeable battery, but you won't get all the power back, and it can be dangerous.