Potato Power
Students use potatoes to light an LED clock (or light bulb) as they learn how a battery works in a simple circuit and how chemical energy changes to electrical energy. As they learn more about electrical energy, they better understand the concepts of voltage, current and resistance.
Students use potatoes to light an LED!Copyright 2010 David Tribble, Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 3.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Potato-Battery-5495.jpg
Engineers use batteries to store energy in a wide range of situations. A solid electrolyte battery is most suitable in very extreme weather conditions, while nickel-zinc batteries work best in electric vehicles. Energy engineers continually evolve technology to improve the performance and life-cycle costs of batteries that store solar and wind energy. When designing a battery, engineers keep in mind the needs of the application, and use different substances to create current flow. They consider characteristics such as power output, ability to recharge, reliability, size, safety, heat generation, length of life cycle, abuse tolerance, cost and ability to be recycled. Isn't the power of engineering creativity amazing?
After this activity, students should be able to:
- Describe the flow of electrical energy through a simple circuit.
- Explain why a light bulb may take more than one battery to light up.
- Explain the role of electrical engineers in the development of electricity sources and the products that use electricity.