Need Hi-Tech Hi-Powered Organic Battery plans for Science Fair

[FreakinDJ]

My kid has been trying to find information and plans for a Hi Powered Organic Battery for his Science Fair project.

He is experiementing with a home made solar cell and wants to augment the power requirements of his blinking LEDs.

I am invisioning some thing like multiple Zinc and Copper plates with Orange juice in a tuppaware box.

any help/links would be appreciated

[NYC_SKP]

1. Well...

I've known students who made solar cells, it's fun but I don't think you'll get nearly as much current as with your orange juice battery.

Here's a lesson on making a battery: http://www.need.org/ElectroWorks%20Student.pdf

Here's making a battery with pennies and nickles, the pennies have to be old pure copper (I've done this one).
The more coins you use, the more power you'll get.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Penny-and-Nickel-Battery/

Also, post your question in the DU Science and the DU Enery/Environment forums.

:hi:

[alfredo]

2. A Science Fair site

googled: "organic battery science fair"

http://www.sciencefairadventure.com/


found this also:

Googled: "lemon battery"
http://www.quantumbalancing.com/news/lemon_battery.htm

[ddeclue]

3. Any dissimilar metal pair + an electrolyte will generate voltage..

however you risk making toxic waste in the process depending on the metals chosen.

You might want to look into building a fuel cell. There are numerous kits on the intertubes.

[FreakinDJ]

4. Yep fuel cell was also 1 of the ideas that came up

[The River]

5. 500 Lb Potato Battery

http://latteier.com/potato/
"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."

When the battery wears out you can recycle the potatoes into Vodka!

[Canuckistanian]

6. 200 microamps/potato? That's all?

Seems to me that the lemons can provide more current. Four lemons can produce enough to light an LED (assuming a current of at least 1.5V and 20 mA for an LED.)

[ddeclue]

7. 500 lb = 20mW at 5 V.. bwa ha ha.. skip the battery and go straight to the vodka.

[KittyWampus]

8. aw, I thought we were talking one 500 pound potato

[The River]

9. That's What I Thought

when I saw the google link.

It was more about showmanship than efficiency