Lemon Battery and Potato Clock

lemonbattery            potatoclock

The lemon battery and potato clock can be used to demonstrate how energy from chemical reactions generates current. Copper and zinc electrodes inserted into a lemon generate voltage which can be measured by an voltmeter. Similarly, copper and zinc electrodes inserted into potatoes generate enough voltage to run a small clock.

Materials:

  1. Lemons and potatoes
  2. Electrodes and wires
  3. Banana cables and alligator clips
  4. Voltmeter for the document camera
  5. Potato clock

Note: Lemons and potatoes are supplied by the instructor.