system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: How come hitting my tv remote against my hand makes it work again when the batteries are going?
gpt
When batteries get older, they start to 'dry up'. Inside the batteries in your remote there's a substance like a gel (called the battery acid) that's separated by a non-conductive barrier. Part of the gel holds the charge to be used, the other part receives the charge after its used. When a battery gets old this gel can form crystals that make it hard for a weak charge to go through. Jarring the battery by hitting the remote against your hand breaks up and moves these crystals around, allowing the weak charge to flow again.

Really, you should be replacing your batteries at this point. Hitting your remote is just going to break it.