In my previous video, I showed you how to
make a battery out of a potato.
The truth however, is that the potato doesn't
make the electricity, the copper and zinc
do, and all you really need is an electrolyte
between them.
To make a penny battery, you're going to need
zinc washers, copper pennies, a small section
of cardboard, electrical tape, a small glass,
some white vinegar, and multimeter would be
great if you happen to have one.
Step one is to pour some vinegar into a small
glass.
Then take your piece of cardboard and trace
the washers.
You're going to several of these, so trace
it a few times and then cut them out.
Now put the little cardboard circles into
your glass of vinegar and stir them up a bit.
These need to soak for at least two minutes.
The aluminum foil strip is optional, but will
make it easer to check the voltage.
Take a zinc washer, and then blot dry one
of our cardboard circles, placing it on top
of the washer.
Then add one of our pennies.
Testing this first cell with the multimeter
I got .8V.
That's incredible.
To make it even more powerful, lets add two
more cells consisting of a zinc washer, cardboard
circle and penny stacked on top.
Now it measures 3.4V!
I'm super impressed!
To keep it all together, I wrapped our penny
battery with a couple of strips of electrical
tape.
Then I gently inserted our blue LED from the
potato video and it lights right up!
And that's how you make a potato battery,
without the potato!
And amazingly, 24 hours later, its still going
strong and I can't help but wonder, "How long
will this thing last?"
