Potatoes To Produce Enough Power Similar To Batteries

Potatoes To Produce Enough Power Similar To Batteries

Potatoes are one of the favorite snacks loved by almost everyone. With its unending benefits and taste, it has always been known all over the world. It is packed with vitamins B6, C and D along with minerals including potassium, zinc, iron, calcium, phosphorus and magnesium. Not only this potatoes are rich in protein, fiber and antioxidants too.

Above all these benefits, it has some other usability fact that would put you to wonder.

The Raw Potato Experiment

Long back raw potatoes were experimented to harness its power. In this experiment many potatoes were wired together into a battery, providing a medium for the current to travel from one electrode to another. The acidity of the potato turns it into a rudimentary battery cell. But the experiment could not work as no LED were lighted at that moment. The reason after great study found to be that the potatoes required to be boiled.

Surely, raw potatoes have worked in science experiments in some or the other way. But the tested function could not work better than when used boiled potato.

The New Research

Professor Haim Rabinowitch, a member of the science and agriculture faculty at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, figured out a way to turn a potato into an effective power source. For it to work, two metal rods must be attached to the potato. When doing so, it will induce a chemical reaction that will produce chemical energy.

Long back it was discovered that by inserting zinc and copper electrodes into the potato, the vegetable acts as an electrolyte and produce current.

Research found that by boiling potatoes reduces internal resistance of the potato battery, the reason being able to produce enough amount of electricity. To make the potato battery you will only need potatoes, two pieces of metal rods; a positive charge such as copper and a negatively charged such as zinc and alligator clips. Process being very easy.

Researchers also discovered that potatoes boiled for eight minutes can produce a battery that is ten times more powerful than a plain raw potato. In addition, cost analysis also revealed that using boiled potatoes as a source of electricity is about six times more inexpensive than a typical kerosene lamp and about 50 times cheaper than a standard 1.5 AA battery.