Apple Juice
http://www.popsci.com/diy/article/2009-03/apple-juice
Fruitful Energy
A simple, regulation vegetable battery made from pieces of zinc and copper stuck in a potato can generate half a volt of electricity. The electricity is created from the oxidation of the zinc. The potato is only a conductive barrier, while the copper serves the purpose of completing the circuit. Alternating layers of vegetable, zinc and copper is similar to wiring batteries in series, each set increasing the voltage of the total. Pennies and apples are another way to create some vegetable batteries. Sanded pennies can provide a good source of both zinc and copper in one object. Around 150 alternating pennies and apple slices, arranged into six separate vegetable batteries yielded enough power to charge an iPhone -- but only for a second. Larger zinc plates and whole apple slices would yield a longer supply of power. Around 200 of the layers were made into one three-foot-long apple battery, which delivered a much higher voltage and created a visible, and potentially fatal spark.
Harnessing energy from vegetables is just what we need in our technology advancing, power hungry society today. This experiment just goes to show that energy can be found in just about anything if we try hard enough to harness it. It also gives us another renewable energy resource. Granted, it may not be the cheapest alternative or most efficient alternative out there, but it still gives us an option that we can possibly use in the future. Although apple or potato fuel is not compact, it should drive other alternative fuel researchers to find places where this type of energy can be used -- for smaller projects. If the technology or prototype of it improves, apple growers or other vegetable growers may be able to use it on their farms in the distant future. This advancement of technology also goes to show how rapidly scientists are searching and finding new sources of energies. Despite it's problems, there is one way we can use this energy today though: if we ever get stuck on an island with apples and need to charge our iPhones, at least we'll know how.
Harnessing energy from vegetables is just what we need in our technology advancing, power hungry society today. This experiment just goes to show that energy can be found in just about anything if we try hard enough to harness it. It also gives us another renewable energy resource. Granted, it may not be the cheapest alternative or most efficient alternative out there, but it still gives us an option that we can possibly use in the future. Although apple or potato fuel is not compact, it should drive other alternative fuel researchers to find places where this type of energy can be used -- for smaller projects. If the technology or prototype of it improves, apple growers or other vegetable growers may be able to use it on their farms in the distant future. This advancement of technology also goes to show how rapidly scientists are searching and finding new sources of energies. Despite it's problems, there is one way we can use this energy today though: if we ever get stuck on an island with apples and need to charge our iPhones, at least we'll know how.
No comments:
Post a Comment