Potato Battery

A  Potato Battery is a simple battery often made for the purpose of education. Typically, a piece of zinc metal (such as a galvanized nail) and a piece of copper a (penny) are inserted into a lemon and connected by wires. Power generated by reaction of the metals is used to power a small device such as a LED.

The lemon battery is similar to the first electric battery invented in 1800 by Alessendro Volta, who used brine (salt water) instead of potato juice. The potato battery illustrates the type of chemical reaction (oxidation-reduction) that occurs in batteries.The zinc and copper are called the electrodes, and the juice inside the potato is called the electrolyte. There are many variations of the potato cell that use different fruits (or liquids) as electrolytes and metals other than zinc and copper as electrodes.

Potatoes have phosphoric acid and work well; they are the basis for commercial "potato clock" kits. Due to a misunderstanding of the energy source, potato batteries with LED lighting have been proposed for use in poor countries or by off-grid populations. International research begun in 2010 showed that boiling potatoes for eight minutes improves their electrical output, as does placing slices of potatoes between multiple copper and zinc plates. Boiled and chopped plantain pith (stem) is also suitable, according to Sri Lankan researchers. The energy comes from the metal, not from the potato or other plant, and refining the metal consumes more energy than is delivered.

CHEMICAL REACTION:-

TUTORIAL LINK: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=noI7TmspMrM