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ELECTRIC LEMON PORTABLE

Your battery can generate electricity but will only do so when the electrodes are connected with something that conducts electricity.

Do you think this battery is generating electricity or is there still something missing?

You have just made a battery! It has two electrodes made of different metals and an electrolyte separating them.

Can you guess which part of a battery the aluminum strip that sits inside the lemon is? Do you think it is important for the aluminum to be in contact with the lemon juice?

Slide one of the aluminum strips in the second cut until you are sure part of the aluminum is in contact with the lemon juice.

Why do you think is it important for part of the penny to be in contact with the lemon juice? Note: If your lemon has a very thick skin, you might need an adult to carefully cut away some lemon peel. This copper penny in contact with the lemon juice serves as your first electrode. Part of the penny should be in contact with the lemon juice because that is what serves as the electrolyte.

Push a penny in the first cut until only half of it is showing above the lemon skin.

Make a second, similar cut about one centimeter away and parallel to the first cut.

Make the cut about two centimeters long and one centimeter deep.

Place the lemon on its side on a plate and have an adult carefully use the knife to make a small cut near the middle of the lemon (away from either end).

Higher voltages of electricity, however, can be very dangerous and even deadly you should not experiment with commercial batteries or wall outlets. The amount of electricity generated by this homemade battery is safe, and you will even be able to test it by touching your finger to it and feeling the weak current.

Note: In this activity you will make a very low-voltage battery.

Fold each strip in thirds lengthwise to get three sturdy one-centimeter-by-20-centimeter aluminum strips.

Carefully cut three aluminum foil rectangles, each three centimeters by 20 centimeters.

This will remove any dirt sticking to them.

Wash your pennies in soapy water, then rinse and dry them off with a paper towel.

At least two plastic-coated paper clips.

Knife (and an adult's help when using it).At least one lemon (preferably with a thin skin).Aluminum foil (at least nine by 60 centimeters).A simple household battery might be easier to make than you imagined! As for electrolytes, they are found all over the kitchen lemon juice is just one example. Electrodes are as common as copper pennies you might have stashed in your piggy bank. The human body conducts electricity as well, but not as well as aluminum foil. Aluminum foil is a good conductor-electricity flows easily through it. Now that you know the essentials of a battery, let's examine some household materials. If there are multiple ways to go from one electrode to the other, the electricity will take the path that lets it flow most easily. Connect the two electrodes with a material that can transport electricity well (called a conductor) and the chemical reactions fire up the battery is generating electricity! As you make connections, note that electricity likes to take the path of least resistance. This difference is what generates electricity. This ensures one will react differently than the other with the electrolyte. For a battery to work well, the electrodes must be made up of two different types of materials. The reaction typically occurs between two pieces of metal, called electrodes, and a liquid or paste, called an electrolyte. They depend on an electrochemical reaction to do this. Try this activity and it might just charge your imagination!īatteries are containers that store chemical energy, which can be converted to electrical energy-or what we call electricity. With all this work put into batteries and all the frustration you might have had coping with dead ones, it might surprise you that you can easily make one out of household materials. In 1800 Alessandro Volta invented the first battery, and scientists have been hard at work ever since improving previous designs. So many other items-from remote-control cars to flashlights to hearing aids-would also need to be plugged into a wall outlet in order to function.

ELECTRIC LEMON PORTABLE

Can you imagine how your life would change if batteries did not exist? If it were not for this handy way to store electrical energy, we would not be able to have all of our portable electronic devices, such as phones, tablets and laptop computers.