How to Make a Simple Battery Cell

A lemon battery can be constructed using two different metals as the electrodes.

Battery cells provide electrical energy from a chemical reaction between the electrolyte and the electrodes within the battery. A battery requires two electrodes composed of different metals to provide a voltage differential between the electrodes. A simple battery cell can be constructed from a lemon, a steel nail, and a piece of copper wire. The chemical reaction between the lemon acid electrolyte and the copper will make electrons move through the copper metal electrode. Similarly, the chemical reaction between the electrolyte and the nail will cause electrons to move through the nail at a rate different than that of the copper electrode.

Things You'll Need

• Lemon
• Steel nail
• Solid copper wire
• Digital multimeter

Instructions

1. Squeeze the lemon to break up the lemon pulp. Insert the nail at one end of the lemon, and push the nail about halfway through the lemon.

2. Insert the copper wire at the other end of the lemon. Push the wire approximately halfway through the lemon, taking care that the wire does not come in contact with the nail.

3. Turn on the multimeter, and set the scale to "Volts DC". Attach the red probe to the copper wire, and attach the black probe to the nail. Read the multimeter display; the battery will produce approximately 0.9 volts.

References

• PBS Kids: Lemon Battery
• Independence Hall Association: The Lemon Battery