Potato Chemical Reaction

The chemical reaction between 2 different metals and the juices in the potato generate enough voltage to actually make a clock run or a light bulb a small one. The whole experiment should produce about 1.5 volts DC. You might need to use more than one potato but one should power a small light bulb. It works because the phosphoric acid (H3PO4) in the potato. The potato acts more as an electrolyte not really having a role in the chemical reaction itself. This is why it’s very important to make sure that the pennies and nails never directly touch each other inside the potato. Zinc is an active metal which reacts readily with acid to liberate electrons. The acid’s active ingredient is positively charged hydrogen.

So a transfer of electrons takes

They tried to power a LED light bulb for 40 days and it worked. the cost is around 1 tenth the cost of a typical AA battery. A potato could be used to charge a phone and other electronics. This would be good for regions without a power grid. The potato is not a power source it is the action called salt-bridge between the two metals allowing the electron current to move freely across the wire to create electricity. Numerous fruits rich in electrolytes like banana and strawberries can also form this chemical reaction. Besides being rich in phosphoric acid spuds are ideal in that they’re composed off sturdy starch

Inserting the two common metal electrodes into the potato causes a chemical reaction to occur resulting in current. The potato does not participate directly in the reaction. It is there rather as an electrolyte to facilitate the transport of the zinc and copper ions in the solution while keeping the copper and zinc electrodes apart. The potato contains phosphoric acid which facilitates the electro-chemical reaction of zinc with copper.

Zinc is an active metal, which reacts readily with acid to liberate electrons. The acids an active ingredient is positively charged hydrogen so a transfer of electrons takes place between the zinc and the acid. The reaction at the penny electrode depletes the electrons from the copper and attaches them to the hydrogen ions in the phosphoric acid.

Difference between using a potato or a lemon

A lemon and potato work like a low powered battery. Chemicals in fruit or vegetable create a negative charge in the zinc strip. Electrons move into the zinc strip and travel up the wire attached. The electrons then travel through the voltmeter which measures the voltage drop and end up in the copper strip which becomes the positive end of the