ICE TRAY BATTERYBY: DR. BLACK

DURACELL LABORATORIES

MATERIALS

• Ice cube tray

• Vinegar

• L.E.D (light bulb)

• Copper wire

• Zinc Nails

VOCABULARY

• DC: direct current

• AC: alternating current

• L.E.D: light emitting diode

• Corroded: rusted

• Volt Meter: a tool to measure voltage

• Electrolyte: a conductive fluid

• Electron: a subatomic particle

HYPOTHESIS

• Initial thought was I would be able to turn on the light (led) with my ice tray battery.

OBSERVATION

• As we added more nails with copper wire to create more cells of the ice tray the measurable voltage increased. I observed it with a DC voltage meter.

ANOTHER OBSERVATION

With 24 cells approximate voltage was 13 volts DC. I allowed the battery to sit overnight and had found the nails had corroded badly and dropped my voltage to 3 volts DC. After a light sanding of the nails to remove the corrosion my voltage increased to nearly 13 volts again.

THOMAS EDISON AND DC VOLTAGE

Thomas Edison was the founder of DC voltage. He want to wire the world with DC voltage but the amount of wires needed to power these very dim light bulbs was overwhelming. Nikola Tesla created the AC voltage system that we use in our world today. DC voltage still has its purpose still though. We use it to power our cars, iPods, phones, game controllers or any thing else that uses a battery and is not plugged into the wall.

SCIENCE BEHIND MY PROJECT

• There is acid in the vinegar that creates a chemical reaction. The metal nail particles are attracted to the vinegar particles. The metal nail particle leaves some of the electrons behind. The nail now has a small negative charge. The charge on all the nails are trying to balance their charge and the electrons flow threw the conductive copper to the next nail. This constant flow creates the measurable current.

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMmtiqyF8Lc

QUESTIONS???!!!???