How to Build a Battery Science Project

You can make your own working battery with a lemon.

When you combine a few simple household items with a lemon, the reaction creates a voltaic battery that changes the chemical energy in the fruit to an electrical energy. Building the lemon battery is a great science project idea and only takes a very small amount of time to complete. The electric current the battery produces is generated through the two different types of metal wires in the lemon and can be used to power a small light or even a digital watch.

Things You'll Need

• Paper clip
• 2-inch strip of 18-gauge copper wire, stripped of insulation
• Wire cutters
• Sand paper
• Lemon

Instructions

1. Bend a paper clip so that is a single wire, pulled out straight. Use a wire cutter to snip away any excess metal over two inches long.

2. Sand away any bumps or rough spots from the ends of both the paper clip piece and a two-inch piece of 18-gauge copper wire that has been stripped of insulation.

3. Roll a lemon on a table to loosen it up. Don't push too hard to damage or puncture the lemon.

4. Push the paper clip piece into the lemon, leaving about an inch and a half showing. Repeat with the copper wire, placing it as close as possible to the paper clip without allowing them to touch.

5. Test the battery to see if it works by placing the ends of the exposed wires on the tip of your tongue. The battery should give off a very slight buzz.

References

• Hila Road: Lemon battery project
• Energy Quest: Homemade battery science project