Potato Battery Experiment and Science Behind It
A potato battery is an electrochemical cell that is easy to make. It is an electrochemical battery that converts the chemical energy between the two metal probes or electrodes to electrical energy by immediate transfer of electrons. The potato battery explanation can be given by the presence of starch juices in potatoes along with the electrodes, which help the potato to act as a battery. The metals used here are zinc and copper, which react with each other to produce chemical energy.
The potato does not produce electricity; instead, it acts as an electrolyte or a buffer. Hence it forces the electrons to travel through the potato by separating zinc and copper and forms a complete circuit. By using only two potatoes, a small amount of potato energy or electrical energy is generated. By increasing the number of potatoes, the output power can be increased. Even if the two metals were touching each other without the potato, the transfer of electrons would occur, but no electricity will be produced as the circuit remains incomplete.
How To Make A Potato Battery?
Materials required to build a potato battery:
Two or more potatoes in case you want to generate more electrical energy.
Two zinc-coated or galvanized screws.
Three copper wires.
Two small pennies, if available, or alligator clips.
A small 3mm LED.
A multimeter or voltmeter (optional).
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Steps To Be Followed to Build a Potato Battery
First, strip one of the ends of one copper wire, and if you have the penny available, then fit the penny into the stripped end. Cover the entire penny with the striped end of the copper wire and make a tight fit. In case you don’t have a penny, use alligator clips to fit the copper wire into the potato in the next step.
Next, cut a slit in the potato and insert the copper wire end with a penny or with the alligator clips into that slit. It might take a bit of force but make a tight fit.
Cut the other end of the copper wire, which has not been fitted inside the slit of the potato, and strip off the end of the insulating material for about two inches.
Now, take a screw and fit it in the other potato. Make sure to keep a portion of the screw out of the potato and do not jam it entirely inside.
Connect the other end of the copper wire that you stripped with the screw by wrapping it around the screw.
Now cut a slit in the potato, which already has a screw fitted in it, and repeat steps 2 and 3 by taking another copper wire.
Next, fit a screw in the potato, which only has the copper wire fitted into it.
Now take your third copper wire, strip its end and wrap it around this screw. Leave the ends open. Carefully check the connections with the diagram given below.
Take the exposed ends of the wire to the probes of a multimeter or voltmeter, and there you can see the amount of voltage your potato battery is producing. You can even attach a 3mm LED light bulb to see the action of potato energy.
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Science Behind the Experiment
Now as we have finished the experiment let us understand the science behind this experiment. The idea of this experiment is to not only turn the light bulb on but also to be able to conduct various experiments like this. This can be possible if we dig a little deeper and do some background research.
An electrolyte battery is made up of four things
First is the acidic electrolyte
The second is zinc electrodes
The third is copper electrodes
Fourth is the connectors.
Solved Examples
How Long Can a Potato Battery Supply Us with Electrical Energy?
Answer: As long as the potato remains fresh and does not go stale, it will continue to supply us with electrical energy.
Is It The Potato Itself or Something Inside it That Produces Electricity?
Answer: The potato itself cannot act as a generator of electricity. It is just the medium as it acts as an electrolyte in the electrolytic procedure. The juices and liquids inside a potato make it an excellent electrolyte.
Fun Facts
A room can be lightened for over a month using a potato battery that produces potato energy/electrical energy.
A potato battery can power a cell phone and costs about one-tenth of a general AA battery.
Potato is rich in phosphoric acids and starch juices, making it a significant electrolyte that allows the swift movement of electrolytes.
Potato battery projects can supply equivalent lighting compared to kerosene lamps, which are used in various underdeveloped parts of the world at one-fifth cost. Hence, it’s highly efficient.
It was also found that boiled potato for eight minutes produces much higher efficiency than a raw potato. Also, using quarter sliced potatoes in place of single potatoes reduces cost and increases efficiency for the production of potato batteries.
Words to remember for future projects
Acid
Electrons,
Electrolyte
Electrical
Electrical currents
Electrically conductive
Electrodes, circuit
Voltage
Current
oxidation-reduction.
Future of potato batteries
A potato battery is enough to charge mobile phones and laptops. While the potato is the most commonly used vegetable to teach kids about the making of voltaic batteries, there has been no particular experiment on its usage before 2010. While the world is facing an energy resources crisis and we need better ways to lead a sustainable life, a potato battery is a useful way out. A potato battery can cost up to 50 times cheaper than an AA battery. A potato battery can cost up to 9 dollars whereas a normal 1.5-volt alkaline battery costs around 50- 84 dollars.
The question now remains: Why hasn't this technique been used to date?
The researchers say that there is not enough delay when the world will embrace this sustainable or renewable source of energy. The world needs it and there are many places where there is a shortage or no electricity at all. A slice of potato can provide up to 20 hours of electricity for a light bulb. But when the fight for hunger arises the potato is surely required first for the hungry.
Although researchers are trying to find a way out for this as well and are trying to find methods in which less potato is used to generate maximum electricity. To explain this, the researchers ruptured the cell membrane of a potato by boiling it and found out that by boiling a potato for a span of 8 minutes we can enhance the output ten times.
This is all about the battery made with potatoes. To know more about its working principle, log on to Vedantu and check what the experts have to say. Join the online sessions on such remarkable experiments and get deeper insights from top subject matter experts.
FAQs on Potato Battery Experiment
1. How does a Potato Battery project work?
A potato battery depicts how potato energy can be used to generate electrical energy from chemical energy. The potato acts as an electrolyte. As electrons travel from one metal to the other by the phenomenon of electrolysis, 1.2 volts of electrical energy is produced between the probes from this setup, and it can be checked with a multimeter or voltmeter. But getting errors is very common while taking measurements. Hence, try to measure it for at least five to six times. But our main aim is to produce electrical energy in high magnitude for a more substantial time. Hence, it is a very simple yet efficient and cheap process for the production of electricity.
2. Can a single Potato be used to light a Bulb?
No, a single potato cannot be used to light a bulb as it produces a very small amount of electricity. At least two potatoes are needed to make a potato battery, but sometimes the electrical energy produced is not sufficient to light up a bulb. In that case, you need to increase the number of potatoes used to generate a more considerable amount of power. Make sure each potato has one copper insertion and one galvanized screw. To light an incandescent bulb, you will require more than two potatoes as it draws more power than an LED lamp. Hence, by increasing the number of potatoes, potato energy can be maximized.
3. How many hours does a potato battery last?
The durability of the potato battery will depend on a lot of things. To begin with, the battery will only be used if it is connected to a wire. In case that it is not well connected to the wire it will as per theoretical sense will only last as long as the potato rots. The second factor is the amount of zinc you have as it's the zinc that gets utilized in the reaction that gives power to the battery.
4. What is the meaning of a potato battery?
A potato battery is a battery made with potatoes, it's a way of converting chemical energy into generating electricity. A potato battery has two terminals; a positive terminal and a negative terminal. In a potato battery, electricity is generated when the chemicals like zinc and copper react to the acid that is there inside the potato. A small amount of energy is generated which can be used to power small electronic devices like a led bulb or a wall clock.
5. What type of potato is used for making a potato battery?
To make a potato battery you can use raw potato or a boiled potato. Some years ago the researchers conducting experiments at the Hebrew University informed the world that they have found an amazing fact and that is if a raw potato is boiled for about 8 minutes it has the capacity to produce 10 ten times more power compared to a raw potato. It can also be used for supplying power for as long as 40 days. To know more about this fun-filled concept, log on to Vedantu and find out what the experts have to say.
6. Why is only potato preferable for making a battery?
There are other fruits such as strawberries that also have acid but there are various reasons for which potato looks preferable. The first thing is a potato is available all over the world and it is not affected by any particular type of climate. Second, potatoes can be stored for a very long time and they would not go bad as quickly as other fruits or vegetables. Third, there is no particular environment that needs to be created to store a potato.
7. Can we also produce batteries from Lemon?
Yes, you can. A lemon battery is most commonly known as a voltaic battery using chemical energy to convert into electricity. This battery is made up of two elements one is a steel clip used for paper and the second is the copper wire. It can be used to light a small flashlight bulb but it cannot be used to power a light bulb. Even if you use a lot of lemons there would not be a lot of energy produced.