John Kosta

3/14/19

2*

Proof of Efficacy: Energy Transfer Device

1-

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2 - Our design is a lemon battery that conducts electricity through lemons, copper, and zinc. In order to

capture the electricity released by this system, it needs to be set up correctly. You can improve the output

of the system in many ways but this section will explain how a basic single cell lemon battery produces

electricity. (Not focusing on how much electricity can be produced.) Lemon batteries are made with two

metallic electrodes, one being copper and the other being zinc. The lemon does not actually produce the

electricity but instead this energy is produced by the chemical change in the zinc. The zinc goes through

the process of oxidation while inside the lemon. During this process, the zinc exchanges electrons in order

to reach a lower energy level. This exchange of electrons is where the electricity is produced. The zinc is

the anode of the battery. When it loses electrons, it changes into the acidic as Zn^2+ ions. The copper acts

as the cathode of the battery. At this end, hydrogen ions are reduced and produce hydrogen. The lemon

acts as a pathway for the energy to flow. The electrolytes within the lemon allow electricity to flow from

the anode to the cathode when set up with wires to power something. (Such as an LED light bulb.)

3 - After starting with a single uncut lemon, a zinc based nail, and straight piece of copper wiring; we

wanted to see what else we could do to help up our energy output from here. Our first step was to get

more lemons to try to increase the output of our device. As you can see in picture two, we used 13 whole

lemons with straight pieces of copper and zinc. We wired this system as a series and tested our output. In

order to achieve a higher output we decided to change our design again. Instead of using whole lemons

we decided to cut our lemons in half and add salt. Salt is another electrolyte that assists the flow of

electricity through our battery. We also changed our copper from a straight piece to one that was coiled.

This makes it so that more of the copper is in contact with the inside of the lemon allowing more

electricity to flow through our battery. You can see this in picture one. Sticking with this method we

decided the set up a system that would give us our highest energy output yet. We decided to cut eight

lemons in half, add salt to each half, and set them up in a series. By doing this we used a large amount of

lemons with all of the methods we learned so far to boost our output. This test is represented in picture 3.

After this we thought of a different way to wire the battery to try to boost the output beyond the

maximum that we had already achieved. We did another test with the same amount of lemons and salt.
We did however change the zinc nails to sheets of zinc that had been folded. This used the same idea as

the copper where we got as much zinc in contact with the inside of the lemon as possible. In this test

however, we didn’t set up our battery in a series but instead in two parallels that we connected. We did

this to combine the electricity from all of the lemons instead of having the electricity run through all of

the lemons. We did not get an output from this system to to a problem in the wiring.

4-

Electrolytes - a liquid or gel that contains ions and can be decomposed by electrolysis

Electrodes - a conductor through which electricity enters or leaves an object, substance, or region

Anodes - the positively charged electrode by which the electrons leave a device

Cathodes - the negatively charged electrode by which electrons enter an electrical device

Citric acid - crystalline acid present in the juice of lemons and other sour fruits

Chemical potential energy - energy stored in the chemical bonds of a substance

Electrical energy - a form of energy resulting from the flow of electric charge

Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3

13 whole lemons (uncut,straight 8 whole lemons cut in half (16 8 lemons cut in half (16 halves)
pieces of copper) halves) with salt and curled curled copper, salt, parallel and
pieces of copper) series form

2.6 volts 8.6 volts 6 volts, 3 volts, 0 volts

For our project we used the electricity to light an LED. In order to do this you need at least 3 volts.

Blueprint of citric acid, copper and zinc:

5 - Our design has many things that make it useful and effective. The use of a natural source of energy is

renewable and cost effective. This source of energy; being the lemons, can be grown almost anywhere.

The entire design consists of everyday objects that can be found with ease. The copper used in the design

does not have to be bought but instead any object made from copper can be used to conduct the electricity

through the lemons. The same goes with zinc. Even nails that are made out of zinc can be used in this

design and in fact, were used successfully during some of our trials. Overall this is a useful source of

energy that provides electricity through natural and everyday items.