A completely original device, in order to interest children of secondary school age, is a potato battery. Yes there are children! Many adults are interested in the manufacture and research of such a direct current source. For the construction does not need any special tools and devices - suitable means available. Moreover, it takes just a few minutes to make.
What is a potato battery for?
A potato battery is a non-standard device that cannot be used to power devices in a domestic environment. But it is easy to find a use for other purposes, and to consider the manufacturing process, such as:
- A wonderful project for a scientific exhibition.
- Joint study of physics by children and parents.
- An unusual hobby that you can surprise friends.
Basically, these devices are used for demonstration or installation of physical laws. Children are very fond of conducting experiments on the study of electric current.
What tools will be needed to create a vegetable battery
To make a vegetable a direct current source, additional tools and materials are needed, as it will not produce electricity by itself. The potato battery will be obtained using the following materials:
- 2-3 large potatoes.
- Nails made of zinc and copper.
- Single core copper wire.
- Ammeter, better a multimeter.
- Light-emitting diode.
In addition, you need a soldering iron, pliers, scissors for cutting metal. It is advisable to prepare the workplace and optionally take a damp cloth to wipe the surface.
Potatoes are the most available material, but craftsmen often experiment using citrus fruits and other vegetables and fruits. The principle of the manufacture and use of the same, as well as potatoes. You just need to take a little more wire and nails.
Features of manufacturing an unusual source of energy
No need to have a huge baggage of knowledge in physics or to be a jack of all trades to figure out how to make a battery out of potatoes. Even a child can cope with the task. The principle of manufacturing a potato battery:
- You must first prepare the copper wire. Remove the insulator, if it is present and well cleaned wire ends.
- Attach a copper nail to one end of the wire, and zinc to the other. If you solder the wire to the elements, then the voltage loss will decrease.
- Arrange the potatoes sequentially and connect the vegetables with wire and nail elements. In each unit stuck two different tack. If zinc is inserted in the first, it is logical that in the second - copper. So, in a different part of the second potato you need to stick a nail from zinc.
- Next, it is worth taking DC measurements: press the final nails to the probes of the multimeter or ammeter. Three potatoes can show a voltage of 1.5 V.
- You can increase the number of elements in the chain of vegetables. It is enough to cut each potato into several parts. Then the tension will increase.
Thanks to these figures, the battery of the potatoes can light a small LED. It is enough to connect only two final nails from the first and last potatoes to the wiring of the lighting element.
The principle of operation of such a device
Before you start making a vegetable battery, you can measure. Enough to stick in a potato probes micrometer. The result immediately jumps to the scoreboard with an indicator of several millivolts. If you attach the wires of the device to the coins, which are then inserted into the slice on the potato, then the indicators will increase.
Potatoes contain salts and acids, which play the role of an electrolyte. Zinc and copper are elements of the anode and cathode, respectively. You can use elements made of steel or aluminum, but the voltage indicators will be lower, since the material has a high resistance.
A battery of lemon and potatoes will be much more effective than a current source from a single vegetable. Thanks to the oxidative processes that occur during the interaction of zinc, copper and acids, an electric current is generated. Electrodes sequentially move from the anode to the cathode at a certain speed. The battery of the potato works on the same principle at home. Therefore, to say that the potato is concentrated current, stupid.