In BP conditions ( Big Pi**ets, this term denotes some kind of global cataclysm - disaster, world war, man-made disaster on a planetary scale - ed.) many benefits of civilization will disappear and become inaccessible, the world will roll back to the primitive age, in best case, early 19th century. Electricity, as a subtle energy in nature, is guaranteed to become exotic - because there will be no conventional sources. Consumers themselves will live for a while. But it is impossible to store electricity in canned food, such is its nature.

Yes, there will be mainly electromechanical generators based on muscle power, on the flow of water, using the wind flow. And there will be - to a lesser extent - electrochemical generators. To a lesser extent, because their creation will require deeper knowledge of chemistry than the average survivalist can demonstrate.

Electrochemical current source

Electromechanical generators - the topic of a separate article, today we'll talk about electrochemical current sources. All of them are arranged simply - you need two metals, one of which is electropositive, and the other, respectively, electronegative. In other words, one dissolves and the other produces electrons. The metals should not touch, and the electrodes of these metals are in the electrolyte so that the ion current flows between them. An electrical circuit can be powered from the electrodes. Here is the source and ready.

It is clear that the electrochemical current source has a very low potential - half a volt or less. It directly depends on the potential difference of the metals from which the electrodes are made. There are not so many convenient metal pairs, their potentials are well known. Therefore, electrochemical cells are combined into batteries, connected in series.

The well-known lead-acid car battery is such a battery - it has 6 cells (cans) connected in series. Any battery is also a battery of consecutive cells. Or rather, not any, there are monocells, but they are still called batteries for generality.

All boys know that there is no liquid electrolyte in batteries. The filler is impregnated with electrolyte in them - this is convenient for operation. That is, the filler is a kind of sponge filled with a very thick electrolyte. This is sufficient for the electrolyte to pass the ion current.

UPS Batteries ( uninterruptible power supplies - ed.), for example, gel. There, the gel is also like a thick liquid, that is, not as fluid as sulfuric acid from lead batteries. But nevertheless, it is still an electrolyte.

Why all this?

Electricity from potatoes

A "potato cell" is an ordinary potato into which a zinc paperclip and a copper paperclip are stuck. Zinc (galvanized on a steel clip) is the cathode, it dissolves. The copper of the second clip is the anode. The potato itself does not participate in the reaction, but is an electrolyte.

Instead of potatoes, there can be a jar of saline (yes, yes, and the same as everyone here thought, too). Maybe cucumber, tomato, turnip. Salt-soaked toilet paper (unused, in the name of the greatness of science... although this is unimportant). In general, any medium that binds both pieces of metal by ionic conductivity, but does not allow them to touch.

The electrochemical potential of the pair " zinc - copper» very low, fractions of a volt (about 0.8-0.9V). Therefore, in order to dial, for example, 3.5V, that is, the voltage for which standard white LEDs are designed, you need about four to five such elements.

Yes this children's experience, standard for "skillful hands" circles. It's easy, it's clear, it won't kill anyone. And it would have remained so if it were not for the latest advances in electronics. Firstly, this is the mass distribution of LEDs. Which are quite efficient in terms of efficiency, require a tiny 1.5 volts of power and not much current. Microelectronics is also rapidly reducing power consumption.

And in principle, if you collect a sufficient garland from potatoes and paper clips, you can power the power bank at the expense of its converter. Yes, potatoes and paper clips with their undeveloped electrodes will produce little electricity. But still - the converter will squeeze the maximum out of this battery. And then you can feed other devices.

Thus, the electricity from the potato will help you solve the issue of charging devices, lighting, making fire, perhaps even heating, in a power supply, in an emergency or during autonomous survival.

And finally, I repeat - the main limitation of an electrochemical current source is the output power, which depends primarily on:

• areas of electrodes in liquid;
• exhaustion of the composition of the liquid itself;
• the internal resistance of the source (potatoes as such cannot conduct much current).

Therefore, you can safely take metal plates the size of a notebook, put them in a three-liter jar of salt water, and get a mature source.

Surely, many of the physics course remember or heard that from an ordinary potato, and not only from it, you can get some electricity.

What is needed for this, and is it possible to light a low-power flashlight in this way, an LED clock powered by 1-2 Volt round batteries, or make the radio work? Yes and no, let's take a closer look.

Where does electricity come from in potatoes?

To understand that the voltage from a potato is not a fiction, but a very real thing, just stick sharp probes from a multimeter into a single potato and you will immediately see a few millivolts on the screen.

If you complicate the design a little, for example, insert a copper electrode or a bronze coin into the tuber on one side, and something aluminum or galvanized on the other side, then the voltage level will increase significantly.

Potato juice contains dissolved salts and acids, which are essentially a natural electrolyte.

By the way, with equal success, you can use lemons, oranges, apples for this. Thus, all these products can power not only people, but also electrical appliances.

Inside such fruits and vegetables, due to oxidation, electrons will leak from the immersed anode (galvanized contact). And they will be attracted to another contact - copper.

At the same time, do not confuse, electricity here is not generated directly from potatoes. It is well produced precisely due to the chemical processes between the three elements:

• zinc

• copper

• acid

And it is the zinc contact here that serves as a consumable. All electrons flow away from it. At certain conditions even earthen soil can provide electricity. The main condition is its acidity.

You stick two sticks (of course, zinc and copper) into the ground and measure the voltage. Sometimes the potential difference reaches 0.2V. Moist soil improves results.

This is the so-called earth battery.

Assembling a potato battery

So, here is what is needed to assemble a more or less capacitive battery:

Several pieces, since one sense will not be enough.

The larger the cross section, the better.

Nails will play the main role in generating electricity for the flashlight.

• galvanized - this is a negative contact (anode)

• copper-plated is a plus (cathode)

If applied instead of galvanized simple nails, then you will lose in tension up to 40-50%. But as an option, it will still work.

The same applies to the use of aluminum wire instead of nails. At the same time, increasing the distance between the electrodes in one potato does not play a special role.

Take copper wires (mono core) with a cross section of 1.5-2.5 mm2, 10-15 cm long. Strip them of insulation and wind them to a carnation.

It is best to solder, of course, then the voltage loss will be much less.

One copper nail on one side of the wire, and galvanized on the other.

At the same time, different nails are stuck into each tuber, from different couples wires. That is, you should have one zinc contact and one copper contact inserted into each potato.

Different tubers are connected to each other, only through nails from various materials- copper+zinc - copper+zinc, etc.

Voltage measurements

Let's say you have three potatoes, and you connected them together in the manner described above. Use a multimeter to find out what the voltage is.

Switch it to the DC voltage measurement mode and connect the measuring probes to the conductors of the extreme potatoes, i.e. to the initial positive contact (copper) and the final negative (zinc).

Even on three medium-sized potatoes, you can get almost 1.5 volts.

If, however, to the maximum reduce all transient resistances, and for this:

• apply soldering in contacts

then only 4 potatoes are capable of delivering up to 12 volts!

If your cheap flashlight is powered by three AA batteries, then you will need about 5 volts to successfully glow it. That is, when using conventional wires, you need at least three times more potatoes.

To do this, by the way, it is not necessary to look for additional tubers, it is enough to cut the existing ones into several parts with a knife. Then do the same procedure with wires and studs.

Insert one galvanized and one copper carnation into each cut tuber. As a result, it is quite possible to obtain a constant voltage of more than 5.5V.

Is it theoretically possible to get 5 volts from a single potato and at the same time ensure that the entire assembly is no larger than a AA battery in size? It is possible and very easy.

Cut off small pieces of the core from potatoes, and lay them between flat electrodes, such as coins from different metal(bronze, zinc, aluminum).

In the end, you should get something like a sandwich. Even one piece of such an assembly is capable of producing up to 0.5V!

And if you collect several of them together, then the required value up to 5V will easily be obtained at the output.

Current strength

It would seem that everything, the goal has been achieved, and it remains only to find a way to connect the wiring to the power contacts of the flashlight or LEDs.

However, having done such a procedure and assembling a not weak construction from several potatoes, you will be very disappointed with the final result.

Low-power LEDs will of course glow, after all, you still received voltage. However, the level of brightness of their glow will be catastrophically dim. Why is this happening?

Because, unfortunately, such a galvanic cell gives a negligibly low current. It will be so small that not even all multimeters are able to measure it.

Someone will think, since there is not enough current, you need to add more potatoes and everything will work out. Here is a video experiment using 400s! potatoes and connecting from them an LED light bulb as much as 110 volts.

Of course, a significant increase in tubers will increase the working voltage.

When tens and hundreds of potatoes are connected in series, the voltage will increase, but there will be no most important thing - sufficient capacity to increase the current strength.

Yes, and all this design will not be rationally suitable.

practical way with boiled potatoes

But still, is there an easy way to increase the power of such a battery and reduce its size? Yes, I have.

For example, if for this purpose you use not raw, but boiled potatoes, then the power of such a source of electricity increases several times!

To assemble a convenient compact design, use the case from an old C (R14) or D (R20) battery.

Delete all the contents inside (naturally, except for the graphite rod).

Instead of filling, fill the entire space with boiled potatoes.

Then assemble the battery design in reverse order.

The zinc part of the old battery case plays a significant role here.

total area the inner walls are much larger than just sticking cloves into raw potatoes.

Hence the high power and efficiency.

One such power supply will easily deliver almost 1.5 volts, as will a small AA battery.

But the most important thing for us is not volts, but milliamps. So, such a "boiled" upgrade is capable of providing current up to 80mA.

These batteries can power a receiver or an electronic LED clock.

Moreover, the entire assembly will work not for seconds, but for several minutes (up to ten). More batteries and potatoes, more battery life.

There are many ways to generate electrical current. Among them, a special place is occupied by fruits and vegetables, physical and Chemical properties which make it relatively easy to perform this operation. The easiest way to get electricity from potatoes without leaving your own kitchen. In addition to the tubers themselves, you will need various metal objects that are components of an impromptu galvanic cell. The most important thing is to follow the procedure and strictly adhere to the assembly scheme.

Where does the electricity in potatoes come from?

Under certain conditions, it is quite possible to produce electricity from potatoes, fruits and vegetables. The results are clearly displayed on the multimeter display. This current is enough to light the LED or small device battery powered. For something more, such current sources are not designed.

The efficiency of a homemade battery will be higher if specifications and rules:

• If identical metal electrodes are replaced different materials, in which case the voltage will increase markedly. Typically, zinc is used for the cathode and copper for the anode.
• The efficiency of the potato element increases with an increase in the area of ​​the electrodes.
• Zinc is taken from an old battery. This is a glass with an installed galvanic cell. If there is no battery, you can take an ordinary galvanized nail, screw and other similar fastening material.
• Copper for the anode can be taken from cable cores or copper studs and other fasteners can be used.

The assembled element based on copper and zinc will generate electricity from potatoes with a voltage of at least 0.5-0.7 volts. The integrity of the potato does not matter, the most important thing is that the internal juice is preserved.

Physico-chemical processes in potatoes proceed as follows. An acidic environment is formed on the surface of the anode, where the redox reaction takes place. In the course of oxidation, free electrons are released, leaving two zinc atoms. Copper is a very strong oxidizing agent and attracts all free electrons to itself. If the circuit is closed by connecting a multimeter or a light bulb, electrons will begin to move in the direction from the anode to the cathode, that is, an electric current will appear in the electrolytic medium.

The electrolyte itself consists of a weak acid-salt solution contained in potato juice inside the tuber. During the reaction, zinc is consumed and the size of the electrode decreases. Potato tubers themselves serve only as a kind of storage for electrolytic juice. This whole operation has value only from a theoretical or cognitive point of view, and it has not received practical use.

Ways to get electricity

The so-called potato electricity can be obtained in other ways. For example, it is possible to extract current using a plate element. A flat piece is cut off and placed between the copper and zinc plates. Alloys of these metals can be used if it is not possible to obtain them in their pure form. Copper plates are made from coins, and zinc plates are made from flat galvanized washers of the same diameter. Such elements are compact and easily assembled into a common potato battery.

If there is too little energy in one copper-zinc potato element, then the problem of how to get more current can be solved by connecting several such parts in series. As a result, the battery voltage will increase significantly. This circuit involves the connection of the positive pole of one element and the negative pole of another element.

The wires that are at the edges will play the role of plus and minus for the entire battery. The value of the total voltage will be the sum of the EMF of all elements connected to each other. Thus, even two cells connected in series make it possible to obtain electricity from potatoes in the amount of as much as 1.5 volts, comparable to conventional AA batteries.

How to make a potato battery

To make a potato battery, a parallel connection scheme is used. The currents of each element are summed up. All positive poles are connected to a common plus and negative poles to a common minus. All electricity in the sum will be the values ​​of individual currents, combined in a parallel circuit. The voltage is equal to the average value of the voltage of each individual element.

There are also combined schemes generating electricity, combining options. This makes it possible to significantly increase the maximum current and voltage values ​​of the potato battery. The resulting design is considered to be fully functional and electricity from potatoes in an emergency can charge a telephone battery. It all depends on the number of tubers involved in the chain.

More high efficiency have boiled potato tubers. During heat treatment there is a destruction of organic substances, and the electrical resistance of the juice is significantly reduced. A plate battery from boiled potatoes at home is more powerful than from raw tubers.

How to make a battery out of potatoes - 2 ways. Working and not so much. Electricity from potatoes

Electricity from potatoes - 2 ways. 1.5V battery from boiled potatoes, video of making at home.

Surely, many of the physics course remember or heard that from an ordinary potato, and not only from it, you can get some electricity.

What is needed for this, and is it possible to light a low-power flashlight in this way, an LED clock powered by 1-2 Volt round batteries, or make the radio work? Yes and no, let's take a closer look.

Where does electricity come from in potatoes?

To understand that the voltage from a potato is not a fiction, but a very real thing, just stick sharp probes from a multimeter into a single potato and you will immediately see a few millivolts on the screen.

If you complicate the design a little, for example, insert a copper electrode or a bronze coin into the tuber on one side, and something aluminum or galvanized on the other side, then the voltage level will increase significantly.

Potato juice contains dissolved salts and acids, which are essentially a natural electrolyte.

By the way, with equal success, you can use lemons, oranges, apples for this. Thus, all these products can power not only people, but also electrical appliances.

Inside such fruits and vegetables, due to oxidation, electrons will leak from the immersed anode (galvanized contact). And they will be attracted to another contact - copper.

At the same time, do not confuse, electricity here is not generated directly from potatoes. It is well produced precisely due to the chemical processes between the three elements:

And it is the zinc contact here that serves as a consumable. All electrons flow away from it. Under certain conditions, even earthen soil can provide electricity. The main condition is its acidity.

You stick two sticks (of course, zinc and copper) into the ground and measure the voltage. Sometimes the potential difference reaches 0.2V. Moist soil improves results.

This is the so-called earth battery.

Assembling a potato battery

So, here is what is needed to assemble a more or less capacitive battery:

Several pieces, since one sense will not be enough.

The larger the cross section, the better.

Nails will play the main role in generating electricity for the flashlight.

• galvanized - this is a negative contact (anode)

• copper-plated is a plus (cathode)

If you use simple nails instead of galvanized ones, then you will lose up to 40-50% in tension. But as an option, it will still work.

The same applies to the use of aluminum wire instead of nails. At the same time, increasing the distance between the electrodes in one potato does not play a special role.

Take copper wires (mono core) with a cross section of 1.5-2.5 mm2, 10-15 cm long. Strip them of insulation and wind them to a carnation.

It is best to solder, of course, then the voltage loss will be much less.

One copper nail on one side of the wire, and galvanized on the other.

At the same time, different nails are stuck into each tuber, from different pairs of wires. That is, you should have one zinc contact and one copper contact inserted into each potato.

Different tubers are connected to each other, only through nails made of various materials - copper + zinc - copper + zinc, etc.

Voltage measurements

Let's say you have three potatoes, and you connected them together in the manner described above. Use a multimeter to find out what the voltage is.

Switch it to the DC voltage measurement mode and connect the measuring probes to the conductors of the extreme potatoes, i.e. to the initial positive contact (copper) and the final negative (zinc).

Even on three medium-sized potatoes, you can get almost 1.5 volts.

If, however, to the maximum reduce all transient resistances, and for this:

• apply soldering in contacts

then only 4 potatoes are capable of delivering up to 12 volts!

If your cheap flashlight is powered by three AA batteries, then you will need about 5 volts to successfully glow it. That is, when using conventional wires, you need at least three times more potatoes.

To do this, by the way, it is not necessary to look for additional tubers, it is enough to cut the existing ones into several parts with a knife. Then do the same procedure with wires and studs.

Insert one galvanized and one copper carnation into each cut tuber. As a result, it is quite possible to obtain a constant voltage of more than 5.5V.

Is it theoretically possible to get 5 volts from a single potato and at the same time ensure that the entire assembly is no larger than a AA battery in size? It is possible and very easy.

Cut off small pieces of the core from potatoes, and lay them between flat electrodes, such as coins made of different metals (bronze, zinc, aluminum).

In the end, you should get something like a sandwich. Even one piece of such an assembly is capable of producing up to 0.5V!

And if you collect several of them together, then the required value up to 5V will easily be obtained at the output.

It would seem that everything, the goal has been achieved, and it remains only to find a way to connect the wiring to the power contacts of the flashlight or LEDs.

However, having done such a procedure and assembling a not weak construction from several potatoes, you will be very disappointed with the final result.

Low-power LEDs will of course glow, after all, you still received voltage. However, the level of brightness of their glow will be catastrophically dim. Why is this happening?

Because, unfortunately, such a galvanic cell gives a negligibly low current. It will be so small that not even all multimeters are able to measure it.

Someone will think, since there is not enough current, you need to add more potatoes and everything will work out. Here is a video experiment using 400s! potatoes and connecting from them an LED light bulb as much as 110 volts.

Of course, a significant increase in tubers will increase the working voltage.

When tens and hundreds of potatoes are connected in series, the voltage will increase, but there will be no most important thing - sufficient capacity to increase the current strength.

Yes, and all this design will not be rationally suitable.

A practical way with boiled potatoes

But still, is there an easy way to increase the power of such a battery and reduce its size? Yes, I have.

For example, if for this purpose you use not raw, but boiled potatoes, then the power of such a source of electricity increases several times!

To assemble a convenient compact design, use the case from an old C (R14) or D (R20) battery.

Delete all the contents inside (naturally, except for the graphite rod).

Instead of filling, fill the entire space with boiled potatoes.

Then assemble the battery design in reverse order.

The zinc part of the old battery case plays a significant role here.

The total area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe inner walls is much larger than just sticking cloves into raw potatoes.

Hence the high power and efficiency.

One such power supply will easily deliver almost 1.5 volts, as will a small AA battery.

But the most important thing for us is not volts, but milliamps. So, such a "boiled" upgrade is capable of providing current up to 80mA.

These batteries can power a receiver or an electronic LED clock.

Moreover, the entire assembly will work not for seconds, but for several minutes (up to ten). More batteries and potatoes, more battery life.

svetosmotr.ru

Plant electricity | Magazine Popular Mechanics

Once on a desert island, the modern Robinson could indulge in the pleasure of using a player, smartphone or flashlight, provided that he knew how to extract electricity from coconuts and bananas.

Juicy fruits, new potatoes and other food products can serve as food not only for people, but also for electrical appliances. To get electricity from them, you need a galvanized nail or screw (that is, almost any nail or screw) and a cut copper wire. To fix the presence of electricity, we need a household multimeter, and more clearly demonstrate success LED lamp or even a battery powered fan.

Lemon battery Mash the lemon in your hands to break down the internal partitions, but do not damage the peel. Insert a nail (screw) and copper wire so that the electrodes are as close to each other as possible, but do not touch. The closer the electrodes are, the less likely they are to be separated by a partition inside the fruit. In turn, the better the ion exchange between the electrodes inside the battery, the greater its power.

The essence of the experiment is to place copper and zinc electrodes in an acidic environment, whether it be a lemon or a bath of vinegar. The nail will serve as our negative electrode, or anode. Let's assign a copper wire as a positive electrode, or cathode.

In an acidic environment, an oxidation reaction occurs on the anode surface, during which free electrons are released. Each zinc atom loses two electrons. Copper is a strong oxidizer and can attract electrons released by zinc. If you close the electrical circuit (connect a light bulb or multimeter to an impromptu battery), electrons will flow from the anode to the cathode through it, that is, electricity will appear in the circuit.

Potato battery Potato is by nature an excellent body and electrolyte for a galvanic cell. The potato consistently gave us a voltage of more than 0.5 V per cell, while the lemon showed a result in the region of 0.4 V. The voltage champion is vinegar: 0.8 V per cell. To get more voltage, connect the elements in series. To supply more powerful consumers (fan) - in parallel.

On the surface of the cathode, that is, a negatively charged electrode, a reduction reaction takes place: the cations (positively charged ions) of hydrogen contained in the acid receive the missing electrons and turn into hydrogen, which comes out in the form of bubbles. A concentration of anions (negatively charged ions) of the acid arises near the cathode, and zinc cations near the anode. To balance the charges in the electrolyte, it is necessary to provide ion exchange between the electrodes inside the battery.

Earth battery High acidity of the soil is a problem for agronomists, but a joy for electrical engineers. The content of hydrogen and aluminum ions in the earth allows you to literally stick two sticks (as usual, zinc and copper) into the pot and get electricity. Our result is 0.2 V. To improve the result, the soil should be watered.

It is important to understand that electricity is not generated from a lemon or a potato. This is not at all the energy of chemical bonds in organic molecules, which is absorbed by our body as a result of food consumption. Electricity is generated by chemical reactions involving zinc, copper and acid, and in our battery it is the nail that serves as a consumable.

www.popmech.ru

Electricity from potatoes: getting at home

Getting electricity with vegetables is not as difficult as it seems. You can practically learn how to get electricity from potatoes in your kitchen. It will take only a few potatoes, a piece of wire, a few nails, washers, coins to assemble a working galvanic cell or even a battery with their help. Using such a battery, you can not only power a low-power load like a clock, a radio, but even charge a phone or light a household lighting lamp.

Uses of raw potatoes

It is possible to get electricity from potatoes even at home. To verify this, just stick two metal voltmeter probes into the potato. The device will show the presence of voltage at a level of several millivolts.

Of course, it is unlikely that it will be possible to power any electrical appliance from such a source, the power is too low. If instead of probes made of the same metal, a zinc cathode and a copper anode are used, its voltage will increase significantly.

How more area electrodes, the more efficient the cell is. Zinc can be obtained from a used battery by cutting a metal zinc cup of a galvanic cell. A simpler option: use an ordinary galvanized nail, screw or screw made of hardware store. The anode is made from a piece copper wire, cable strands or copper fasteners from the same hardware store. A copper-zinc vegetable cell will already give about 0.5-0.7V. In fact, the result is a real galvanic cell.

It doesn't matter if the potato is whole or not. A large root crop cut into pieces will work the same way as a whole one.

plate element

Another effective method receiving potato electricity consists in placing a flat piece of raw root between plates of copper, zinc, and their alloys. Various copper coins can be used as plates, and the negative electrode can be made from a flat galvanized washer of a suitable diameter. Such an element turns out to be compact, it is easier to make a battery out of it.

potato battery

One copper-zinc potato cell will allow you to get a maximum of about 0.9 V and a very small current. In order to increase the maximum power, you need to connect several elements in series, in parallel, or apply a combined circuit.

serial connection

This method is used to increase battery voltage. With this arrangement, the poles are connected in such a way that the positive pole of one cell is connected to the negative pole of the next. The extreme taps will become the plus and minus of the battery. The EMF of all elements is added, while the current flowing in the circuit will be equal to the current of one element. The total total voltage is equal to the sum of the EMF of all connected elements.

Two series-connected potatoes or plate cells will already give 1.5 V, comparable to a familiar AA battery.

With the latter, the situation is very simple, since such a battery is obtained by laying in layers according to the scheme: plus-copper-potato-zinc-copper-potato-zinc-minus.

Parallel connection

With this connection scheme, the currents of all elements add up. All positive poles combine to form a "plus", all negative poles form a "minus". The total current will be equal to the sum of the currents of all cells connected in a parallel circuit, and the voltage will be equal to the average voltage of the individual parts.

Combined scheme

It consists in combining a series and parallel connection scheme to increase the maximum current and voltage of the battery.

Thus, using a series-parallel connection scheme, you can get a fully functional battery, for example, capable of charging a phone battery with electricity from a potato in an emergency.

At in large numbers involved vegetables, you can even light a household lighting lamp.

An interesting video about getting electricity from potatoes:

Boiled potatoes

Provides even higher energy performance. When cooking tubers organic matter they are destroyed, which helps to reduce the electrical resistance of the "electrolyte". A battery assembled from plate elements based on a boiled vegetable is more powerful than a similar one from a raw one.

Physical and chemical substantiation

By itself, the potato, or any other vegetable, does not contain any kind of electricity. And this is not the energy that our body extracts from eating vegetables. The appearance of electricity occurs due to the chemical oxidation-reduction reaction on the electrodes of the galvanic cell. During the reaction, electrons are exchanged between the anode and cathode with the flow of electric current in the electrolyte medium. The electrolyte in this case is a weak solution of acids and salts contained in the tuber juice. Zinc or another metal, being oxidized in the electrolyte environment, releases electrons, which, being restored on the second, copper electrode, form an electric current. With such a reaction, the zinc electrode is gradually consumed. And the potato itself is just a container that can retain juiciness (electrolyte) for a long time.

Of course, experiments on obtaining electricity from potatoes are interesting primarily from a cognitive point of view and for practical application little suitable.

Potato flashlight: video

Read also:

electroadvice.ru

Energy from potatoes

05.01.2014 15:35

In Israel, a scientist was able to extract electricity from ordinary boiled potatoes. This is an unusually simple way to produce current, plus everything and environmentally friendly. This invention can be called a potato battery, it seems to me that this is how it will go to the masses. At the moment, it is important to find such simple sources of energy, since the cost of such electricity will be much lower than our usual electricity from sockets. Naturally, this method of producing electricity is beneficial for residents of developing countries. Already many scientists around the world believe that a third of the population the globe can safely switch to using this kind of batteries. What is the basis of a potato battery? What does it consist of? Its scheme is quite simple - copper and zinc electrodes plus boiled potatoes, which are used to generate electricity itself. The use of boiled potatoes in this case increases the battery power by about 10 times. So before you decide to invent such a thing at home, pre-boil the potatoes and do not use raw. The duration of potato batteries is anywhere from one to two days and even up to several weeks, and the cost of such batteries is several times cheaper than the usual store batteries for all of us. Just imagine the scale of the cheapness of such electricity, if, for example, lighting from potatoes costs about six times less than a kerosene lamp. Potatoes are grown in many countries of the world, so you can safely put potato batteries into use. Conducting experiments to generate electricity from potatoes is becoming more and more popular all over the world. For example, in the UK, scientists have created a web server that is powered exclusively by potatoes. At the heart of this server is an old old computer, so to speak, a primitive PC, with Intel processor 386. It took only 12 potatoes to work, you must admit that not so much. One potato puts out half a volt of power. True, such potato batteries need to be changed every couple of three days. Internet users will be able to scroll through the pages hosted by the potato server without any problems, but only a small number of such users will be able to use such a server due to the low power of the entire device. It is quite possible to use such potato batteries for street lighting of vegetable gardens)))) as they say, everything is at hand ...

elektro-blog.com

Electricity from potatoes at home. Experiment.

Did you know that you can use potatoes to power light bulbs? The chemical energy between two metals is converted into electrical energy and creates a circuit using potatoes! This creates a small electrical charge that can be used to turn on a light. This article is a great example of how energy comes in many forms and how products use that energy to get work done. The battery converts energy from chemical to electrical to make the bulb work (checkpoints C and D). Electricity from potatoes at home is a very interesting experiment for boys school age.

Necessary materials

2 potatoes (you can make more if you want more energy) - coins - 2 galvanized nails / screws (most of the screws are already galvanized) - 3 pcs. copper wire, - a small LED light bulb, - a voltmeter.

Step 1: Connect the copper wires and the coin

You need to make sure you are stripping enough wire to wrap it around the coin securely.

Step 2: Cut a Slit in Each Potato

Each slot should be able to fit a coin, but it doesn't have to be accurate because it can always be adjusted later!

Step 3: Place the Coin in the Potato

The wire-wrapped coin should fit snugly into the slot you made earlier.

Step 4: Cut the other end of the copper wire

On the side where the coins are not attached, cut the wire to the desired length between the other potatoes plus 5-8 centimeters.

Step 5: Inserting the Galvanized Screw into the Potato

Insert a screw into the potato to connect to the other end of the copper wire. Make sure the screw doesn't go all the way through your potato! This step will require some strength and it will be easier for you to get the screw in instead of trying to stick it into the potato.

Step 6: Wrap the other end of the copper wire around the screw

Connect the two potatoes together with the wire going from the coin to the screw.

Step 7: Repeat steps 1 - 3

Gotta cut it new slot for a penny in the second potato, which already has a screw, and insert a new wire-wrapped coin into the potato. Hint: we cut all of our wires so they are about the same length to make life easier.

Step 8: Repeat steps 5-6

Insert a screw into a potato that only has a coin and attach a new screw.

Step 9: Checking Connections

Look closely at potatoes. Each potato in the battery should have one zinc side (screw) and one copper side (penny) with wires attached. Leave two wires, one going to the penny and one to the screw. These wires are connected to a light bulb or voltmeter. Tip. If you want to add more potatoes for more power, be sure to follow this pattern! Each potato must have one screw and one coin!

Step 10: Checking the Battery

Connect loose wires to led lamp or on the voltmeter pins to see your battery in action!

Advice. For a light bulb, two potatoes are not enough power.

Step 11: How Potato Electricity Works - Explained

The potato battery is a type of battery that is known as an electrochemical cell. Chemical substances zinc and copper (in screw and coin/wire) react with each other resulting in chemical energy. This chemical energy is converted into electrical energy by spontaneous electron transfer. The potato acts as a buffer and electrolyte for the two metals. This means that it separates the zinc and copper, causing the electrons to try to jump from one metal to another in order to pass through the potato and form a circuit. The electrons are able to flow through the potato because it acts as an electrolyte. The two metals will still react if they just touch each other without the potato, but without the barrier and electrolyte, the energy released from the reaction doesn't form a circuit, which is what transfers the energy to the light bulb.

Step 12: Our Learning Process

Problems that had to be solved during the experiment on obtaining electricity from potatoes at home: two potatoes cannot power our light bulb, so we had to add more potatoes, it is better to use an LED bulb for the experiment, not an incandescent lamp, since an incandescent lamp requires more energy. The light in the bulb turned on with four potatoes and an efficient LED bulb.

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Electricity from potatoes, how to get?

In order to get electricity from potatoes, you need to take potatoes and copper or zinc nails. Stick a nail into each potato and connect them together with a wire that conducts electricity. But in this way you can get electricity not only from potatoes, but also from cucumbers and tomatoes.

We get electricity from potatoes.

To conduct the experiment, we need:

Let's start, insert nails and a copper nail into the potatoes. We fix the nails with clamps, we attach the connecting wires to the clamps.

The free ends of the wire are connected to a multimeter, which will show the voltage that occurs at the ends of the conductor.

An interesting fact is that various vegetables can be used instead of potatoes: lemon, cucumber, tomato.

To do this is quite simple. In order to get electricity from potatoes, we need: potatoes, copper and zinc nails and connecting wires.

It is necessary to spread out the potatoes and stick nails (zinc and copper) into it, connect the nails with wires. We connect the input and output wires to a 4 watt light bulb.

In fact, electricity can be obtained from many sources - from fruits, air, salt water, wood, etc.

As for the potato, it really is an excellent electrolyte, the voltage of the generated electricity can reach two volts.

What do we do with potatoes? We cut it into two parts, through one half we pass the wires. In the other half, make a small indentation and fill it with toothpaste mixed with a little salt.

Then we connect our potatoes together, you can chain them with toothpicks. It is important that the wires have contact with the toothpaste. By the way, it is recommended to clean the wires for reliability.

For this you will need:

1. Potato.
2. Two types of nails (copper and zinc).
3. Connecting wires.

First, you need to decompose the potatoes. After we take two nails (copper and zinc) and stick them into the potato from different ends. We do this operation with each potato. After that, you need to connect all the potatoes together. In this, we will need connecting wires. We connect the potatoes in series, we attach one wire to a copper nail, the other to a zinc one. And so we do it in a chain with all the potatoes. Therefore, the resulting two wires at the input and output of the chain are connected to the consumer.

To do this, you need zinc and copper nails, wires and potatoes. Preferably more potatoes. Stick 2 different nails into each and connect the nails with wires in series. From 10 potatoes, you can get 5 volts, which is enough for an LED light bulb. For more details, see the video I found on YouTube.

To get voltage from a potato, and then make an LED light bulb glow (I don’t take into account Ilyich’s light bulb or an energy-saving one. But a 4V light bulb, LED).

In the experiment, exactly 400 pieces of medium-large potatoes were combined. They brought the structure to one level and to one wire, connected object and the light bulb lit up.

the total voltage was 135 volts - this was quite enough. But from one potato there will be less tension, but you can also get it.

A video showing step by step how to extract voltage from a potato and how to connect a light bulb and light it up.

Let's figure out how potatoes can produce electricity, with which you can quite realistically 5 volt led bulb.

So we need raw potatoes, copper and zinc nails, and plus wires for connection. Now just lay out the potatoes and stick a nail from different sides (copper on one side of the potato, zinc on the other). After you stick it into all the potatoes, you need to connect the nails with wires in a chain in a sequential manner, but the input and output contacts can be connected to a light bulb.

In order to make electricity out of potatoes, you need to take several potatoes and stick a copper and zinc nail into each one. Then it remains to connect all the potatoes together through the nails.

Now there is a wave of mass desire to charge a smartphone, thanks to vegetables or fruits.

So recently, the famous blogger Mamix tried to charge his phone with 20 kilograms of lemons. Nothing happened to him.

However, if you decide to conduct such an experiment, then you will need potatoes, or rather a lot of potatoes, two types of conductor (copper wire and galvanized nails). The conductors must be interconnected, for example, with electrical tape. And, of course, the main thing is to connect the entire structure in the correct order.

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How to get electricity from potato at home / How to get electricity from potato

Getting electricity from potatoes at home is very simple. In addition to the potatoes themselves, it is necessary to get two wires: copper and galvanized (you can also take silver and gold, but such wires lie - does anyone have one). The wires need to be stuck into the potatoes. At the outputs, we will receive electricity with a voltage of about 3 volts. However, do not forget that everything also depends on the size of the potato itself. The current will be polar: on the copper end - plus, and on the galvanized - minus. Naturally, several potatoes can be connected in series or in parallel and then the voltage will be higher. In principle, it is possible to achieve electricity with any voltage. But, of course, do not forget that the charge of the potato is not infinite, so after a while it will end. The potato itself cannot be eaten after this, as there is a risk of poisoning. **************************************** ************************* I welcome you to my Roman Ursu channel, where you will learn how to make homemade crafts, Christmas crafts, gifts, toys, scarecrows for Halloween, and most importantly that all this can be done at home and with your own hands! Are you fond of needlework, homemade products, or do you just have nothing to do? Then you have come to the channel you need here you can find a lot of homemade crafts, crafts that are made by yourself, and most importantly, that they are all made from improvised means and at minimal cost!******************** ***************************************************Main channel: youtube.com /user/romanursum my second channel: youtube.com/user/romanursuvlogs Vkontakte group: vk.com/club59870517 Odnoklassniki group: odnoklassniki.ru/romanursu

ATTENTION!!! -my channel for decent ones: for mate, shortened or modified mate, for insults and "trolling" - I WILL BAN!!! Attention be careful and do not repeat this at home, the author is not responsible for your actions, this is an entertainment video, not a training or a call to action!******************** ********************************************* It's very easy to get electricity from potato .Besides the potato you need to find two wires – copper and galvanized ones.You may also take silver and golden wires, but one can hardly find it.You have to stick wired into the potato.We receive the electricity of about 3 V. Remember that everything depends on the size of potato. Current would be polar: copper wire has plus and galvanized wire has minus. Obviously, you may use multiple connection of a few potatoes, and you"ll get higher strain. Actually, it's possible to get electricity with any strain rate. It's worth mentioning, that potato charge isn't endless, so it ends up in some time. You may not eat the potato afterwards as you risk to get poisoned.

Welcome to my channel Roman Ursu where you will learn how to make hand made crafts, New Year crafts, presents, toys, Halloween scares. The main thing is that one can make it at home and with one"s own hands.You are interested in handiwork, craft or you just have nothing to do, haven"t you? You have found the channel you really need. Here you can find lots of crafts, hand made items, and the main thing is that they are all made of make-shifts and at the lowest cost!

Main channel: youtube.com/user/romanursuMy second channel: youtube.com/user/romanurs...Vkontakte community: vk.com/club59870517Odnoklassniki.ru community: odnoklassniki.ru/romanursu

ATTENTION!!! - my channel is for decent people: I will BAN for swear words, both in short and transformed form, offence and trolling!!! twitch.tv/romanursuvlogs

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There is an electric boom in our family right now. Our dad collects daytime running lights for a car, Vladik and I are doing experiments with static electricity. Makar plays with his favorite toys, many of which are powered by batteries. And we are interested in the question of how to make a battery with your own hands. Searching for information on the Internet, we found out that Can you make a battery out of potatoes?. They decided not to stop at one vegetable, but conducted research on apple, cucumber, lemon, onion and tomato.

To make a battery from vegetables and fruits, we need:

• vegetables fruits,
• zinc nails,
• copper nails or pieces of copper wire,
• clamp wires,
• Light-emitting diode,
• multimeter.

1. Using the example of a potato, let's look at how and what should be done. It is necessary to stick a nail and a copper nail into the potato. I did not find copper nails, so I made pieces of thick copper wire.
2. Next, attach the wires to the nails with crocodile clips. The free ends of the wire are connected to a changer (in our case, a multimeter), which indicates the voltage that occurs at the ends of the conductor.

Let's group the measurement data. So, the experimental vegetables and fruits give the following voltage (V):

• apple - 0.968,
• tomato - 0.867,
• cucumber - 0.829,
• onion - 0.832,
• lemon - 0.815,
• potatoes - 0.874.

In the group of our vegetables (fruits), the apple became the leader in terms of the resulting voltage, and the lagging behind was the lemon.

Of course, we created such structures not just to measure the voltage. Our goal is to make a battery, that is, a source of energy that can make our LED shine.

We received an LED from dad, but we didn’t know what voltage was needed to make it shine. They began to experiment with every vegetable and fruit. They came to the conclusion that they are very weak sources of energy. But this can be improved a bit.

In order to still receive the light, we have collected necklace made of tomatoes, nails and wires.

How to make a battery out of vegetables

For this, each of the tomatoes was a nail was inserted, to which a piece of thin copper wire was attached at one end. The other end of the wire was stuck into the vegetable. Happened serial connection, which we called a necklace. A string of six tomatoes gave a voltage of 2.68 V. This was enough to light up a small LED.

My husband did not really believe in us, but we did it! Of course, ideas immediately arose to create such a chain that would lead a real light bulb to glow! I think that for this we need about 400 vegetables (fruits), it will be cheaper to use potatoes. I am sure that we will definitely return to this idea when we go to grandparents (there is where our imagination can roam).

There are so many interesting things around, it is worth stopping for a moment, take a closer look and try to do it! It doesn’t always work out as planned or as written in the book, but you can’t give up! Try one way or another, but be sure to try and want.

I began to teach this to my eldest son. Previously, at the slightest failure, he gave up, and now he goes to the result even in unusual situations. Once I tried to put sandals on woolen socks (I don’t know for what purpose). I said that he would not succeed, to which I received in response: “If you really want to, then you will definitely succeed.”

To conduct experiments with static electricity, you can and should involve dad, uncle or grandfather. Male help will be quite helpful. And these experiences will be of interest to everyone, both boys and girls. You've already seen that science is fun. If you agree, then keep from me as a GIFT a portion of ideas for experiments in your home laboratory. I love water and I give you a wonderful collection of experiments with water. Let's do fun science together. Send photos from your lab and write in the comments what you liked the most. See you soon, friends. And remember, science is fun!

Successful experiments! Science is fun!