5 Volt Potato Battery

Seems people are getting creative when making batteries. We aren’t seeing the typical fruit batteries that everyone has made in high school. An example of a creative battery that you might remember from a few months ago is the penny battery. Well I would have to say this potato battery is a step up in creativity. I wouldn’t have thought you could make a battery out of potatoes, but I guess I am wrong! It isn’t a very efficient battery since it weighs 500 lbs and packs less punch than a small 9 Volt battery.

“Batteries work by allowing electrons to pass from one electrode to another. In this case the potato provides phosphoric acid, which enables a chemical reaction causing electrons flow from copper to zinc. The zinc came from galvanized nails and copper came from small pieces of copper. You don’t have to use potatoes; any acidic medium such as citrus fruit will work. I chose potatoes because they are traditional and cheap.

Each potato generates about 0.5 volts and 0.2 milliamperes. I connected groups of potatoes together in series to increase voltage and then connected these groups together in parallel to increase amperage. The entire 500 lb battery generated around 5 volts and 4 milliamperes.”

via Make