Is it possible to make a battery using a piece of fruit or a vegetable? The answer is yes! It is possible! Read on to find out how.

A lemon battery is a simple battery. The source of electric energy is the combination of copper and zinc strips in the citric acid of the lemon. The citric acid of the lemon reacts with the zinc and loosens electrons. Copper pulls electrons more strongly than zinc, so loose electrons will move towards the copper, when the electrodes are connected by wires. Moving electrons are called electric current, which is what makes the clock work.There are many variations of the lemon cell that use different fruits (or liquids) as electrolytes and metals, other than zinc and copper, as electrodes.

Click here to see a lemon battery in action. 

The lemon battery is similar to the to the first battery invented in 1800 by Alessandro Volta, who used salt water (brine) instead of lemon juice. The lemon battery shows the type of chemical reaction that occurs in batteries. The zinc and copper are called the electrodes, and the juice inside the lemon is called the electrolyte.

Click here to see a water battery in action.

Did you enjoy these experiments? Try them out with different vegetables and fruit.

What did you find out?

Till next time…

The featured image was downloaded from www3.nd.edu and was modified for the blog image.