Hello,

I have read my friend's electronics books and my eyes went somewhere.

This is experiment.

Materials Needed.

10 ml of sulfuric acid
zinc strip
copper strip
glass/container
electric wire
water
bulb

Um, how many voltage you think the sulfuric acdid will produce???? and what bulb should i use???

 

Where are you getting the sulfuric acid?

 

Where are you getting the sulfuric acid?

Probably out of the other two-thirds of the car battery from the other thread

 

Probably out of the other two-thirds of the car battery from the other thread

Wow! You're correct! I still have 2 third to use.

No no. of course, purchase somewhere... store?

 

I don't know of any stores where I live that sell sulfuric acid, and selling it to children is usually frowned upon, but the philippenes might be different.
I would think that a battery would actually be the easiest place to get some.

 

Zinc and copper in an electrolyte (dilute acid - vinegar is as good and less dangerous than sulfuric acid) should produce close to 1.5 volts. Current will be determined by the area of both electrodes in the beaker.

If you use the sulfuric, have a lot of water around to wash off splashes. Baking soda is good to have close by, as it will neutralize the acid. Sulfuric acid makes really nasty burns on the skin. As above, vinegar works as well, and is much safer.

 

Be extremely careful with this stuff. All acids are dangerous. You can die simply from getting too much on your skin, as it soaks through (eats through is a better description) and gets into your blood stream. If you must play with acid please do it with adult supervision.

If you pour water into acid it will splash! Always pour acid into water. The solution will get very hot!

Better not to use concentrated acid, if you want to experiment with batteries you can with coins and lemon juice instead.

Bet me there. I like your answer better!

 

Read this zinc-copper battery experiment: http://quiz2.chem.arizona.edu/preproom/Demo Files/cu-zn_battery.htm

You will find the typical voltage that a single cell will produce in the text.

Sulfuric acid will eat through many types of clothing, SKIN, and damage many surfaces. You can neutralize sulfuric acid by using baking soda mixed with water.

You should wear rubber gloves, protective clothing, and work in a well-ventilated area, preferably outside. Keep a bucket of water handy in case you spill the acid on yourself.

Make certain that you neutralize the acid with baking soda, and/or place it in a safe container, and LABEL the container.

[eta]
Wow, I guess I better start typing faster.

 

Hello,

Be VERY carefull.
Sulfuric acid can be VERY dangerous.
Also it can cause cancer.

Take a look at this page from the wiki for more info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulfuric_acid
The material safety datasheet can be found here:
http://www.jtbaker.com/msds/englishhtml/S8234.htm

Bertus

 

You are duplicating how a battery works in this experiment.

If you have access to a lemon, or potato, you can make batteries out of them also.

You need only a piece of copper and a zinc coated nail.

Stick them both into the lemon, and you have a battery. The more you connect, the higher the voltage. JUST like in the car battery.

Each lemon is a CELL and a BATTERY is MANY CELLs together.

So the car battery cells have 2.2v each.
SIX of them make a 12v BATTERY.

'AA' battery is actually a "cell"

Each lemon is a cell. If you get 1v from the lemon, you can connect 12 lemons in series to make a 12v lemon battery.

No SULFURIC ACID needed. The process will use the CITRIC ACID in the lemon instead of the much more damaging SULFURIC ACID.

A drop in your eye WILL blind you.

You MUST wear chemical resistant safety glasses and gloves at a MINIMUM when working with such dangerous chemicals.

You have many years of great discoveries ahead of you. Make sure you keep both eyes to see them with.

Dont play around with safety. It is not a choice. It is a MUST.

With proper safety gear, a little spill is just an "oops"

With no safety gear, that same spill can be a trip to the hospital, or worse.

Make sure your friend knows the dangers so he doesnt do anything to accidentially hurt anyone.

Also, when you are working with dangerous chemicals or high voltages, you should never be alone. Someone should always be near to shut the power off, or drag you out of the fire, should there be one.

Be safe and you can have fun doing theses things for the rest of your life.

 

No joke! Some good experiments posted on the web are in order. I'm talking to him on the chat room someone set up a long while back. Trying to explain coin batteries using lemon juice.

http://xat.com/All_about_circuits

 

[eta]
Wow, I guess I better start typing faster.

Potentially lethal chemicals get people moving I guess...

No joke! Some good experiments posted on the web are in order. I'm talking to him on the chat room someone set up a long while back. Trying to explain coin batteries using lemon juice.

http://xat.com/All_about_circuits

Whoa, Didn't know that existed.

 

OK, homework for other forum members. Find safe battery experiments, and post links!

 

I don't know of any links, but I connected a buncha jellybeans together with wires and was getting a reading on my meter (no current though)
other than that theres just the obvious lemon/lime/orange/potato batteries

Anything else I can think of/get form my chemistry book is dangerous or involves chemicals he won't have access too, or both.

 

Hello,

Here is a page with a bunch of links on homemade batteries:
http://www.educypedia.be/education/homemadebattery.htm

They use lemons, potatoes and vinigar as electrolyte.

Bertus

 

Good one Bertus. Thanks.

 

Hey, I did a science fair project last semester on diodes, (which I considered pathetic, since I had originally intended on doing it when I was 12) and I think he should be able to grasp it, but some of it might be a bit on the tech side, should I post it in the projects section?
(it also taught me about voltage drop and current limiting)

 

Let me add one word of experience regarding safety and sulfuric acid. Everything said here about it being dangerous is true (except maybe causing cancer - never heard that one). But, if the acid is not warm, and if it as been diluted at all with some water, the bad effects of a a spill or inadvertent contact may not be immediately obvious. Instead, some minutes or even hours later you'll feel a stinging and your skin will turn yellow. By this time, it's already too late to prevent some damage. And your clothing may not show a hole until it's been washed a time or two.

If it's hot, concentrated sulfuric can eat thru flesh and metal "instantly". I've seen it, and it scared the hell out of me. I was a chemistry lab teacher, and a student was heating acid right from the bottle instead of the 1:1000 diluted solution she was supposed to make. She broke the beaker, and thankfully I was suspicious when I came upon this situation. I tossed my sponge on the spill rather than hold the sponge with my hand. The sponge disappeared in seconds. I then tossed handful after handful of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) into the puddle, until the piles quit disappearing. Some of the spill dripped over the edge of the bench and dripped straight through the padlocks that were on the bench drawers. No one was hurt, and that's truly good luck. After we got it all cleaned up, she went right back and started over, not thinking she had made any mistake.

 

I miss my chemistry classes....Aaaaaaaah!! the good ol' days

 

I'm seriously considering building a lead-acid battery for a project in chemistry class. My teacher is considering not letting me. I wonder why...