How to Use Fruits & Vegetables to Produce Electricity

Potatoes are favored for vegetable-powered voltaic batteries because they last the longest.

You can harness the power inside fruits and vegetables to produce enough electricity to run a low-voltage device for a month or more. Two electrodes buried in the flesh of a fruit or vegetable creates a basic voltaic cell battery. As soon as conductive lead wires are attached to the electrodes, an electrochemical reaction occurs inside the fruit or vegetable and it begins producing low-level electrical charges. Power man-made electronics with naturally grown foods by making a fruit or vegetable battery.

Things You'll Need

• 1 Copper nail 2-1/2 inches
• 1, Zinc-coated nail 2-1/2 inches
• 2, Copper wires, 8 inches long
• Electrical tape
• Low-voltage battery-powered device (radio, pedometer)

Instructions

1. Insert half the length of the copper nail and zinc-coated nail approximately 1 inch apart in the fruit or vegetable.

2. Wind two separate copper wire tightly around the exposed ends of both nail electrodes until it is secured.

3. Connect the end of the copper wire running from the zinc-coated nail to the negative battery lead marked "-" inside the battery bay of the low-voltage electronic device. Use electrical tape to hold the wire in place and keep the connection.

4. Attach the end of the copper wire running from the copper nail to the positive battery lead marked "+" inside the battery bay of the low-voltage electronic device. Use electrical tape again to secure the connection.

5. Attempt to power-on the device with the wire attached. Try another low-voltage device if the fruit or vegetable you are using does not supply sufficient power.

Tips & Warnings

• Connect positive copper electrodes and negative zinc electrodes from a collection of fruits and vegetables to increase the power of the voltaic cell.

• A copper penny minted prior to 1983 can be used in place of the copper nail. Pennies made after '83 are mostly zinc and covered in a very thin layer of copper.

References

• Science Buddies: Veggie Power! Making Batteries from Fruits and Vegetables
• Hila Road: Outdoor Centre & Educational Resources: Lemon Battery
• Mad Sci: Food Batteries

Resources

• Vegetable Battery