Re: Why does giving my remote control a smack make it work?

The most likely answer is that by the smack, you cause the internal battery
contact points to jiggle around. This will usually scrape away a little of 
the always-present layer of oxidized metal on them, and lower the contact
loss. Thus you get a little more power.  

Usually if this becomes a nuisance, the contacts may have corroded, or the 
springs that press the battery against the contacts (one of which usually is
the spring) are a little compressed.  You can go in, rub or scrape the 
contacts, and stretch the springs a little. This will usually clear up an
intermittent battery contact problem.