CURRENT IS

EVERYWHERE
Different ways to create electricity from household things
Submitted to: Sir Abdul Majid
Submitted By:

Luqman Saleem

11011510-099

Ibn-e-Abbas

11011510-096

Zahid Ali

11011510-079

BS Physics 8th Section B

University of Gujrat

Current is everywhere
Abstract
We normally think that we are running out of energy but there is energy
everywhere around us we just need to learn how to use it. Here we are
explaining how to get energy form some simple household things. You just
need to arrange these things in a specific order and you can recharge your
mobile phone with it.

Introduction
What is current? How a bulb light up? How a mobile recharge itself with
current? Current is simply flow of electron. These electrons when flow in a
circuit through some specific electrical components makes the whole new
technology. So for everything to work we need to flow the electrons. Now the
problem is how to make electrons flow? This is quite tricky and sometime
very difficult. The electricity we use in our homes is also the flow of electrons
form power grid to our home these electrons are powered by a mechanical
energy this mechanical energy is changed into electrical energy. So we have
used a basic law that Energy cannot be created or destroyed, but it can be
saved in various forms. One way to store it is in the form of chemical energy
in a battery. When connected in a circuit, a battery can produce electricity.
Here we will use different type of energy to change them into electrical
energy and form a battery. But what is a battery? A battery has two ends a
positive terminal (cathode) and a negative terminal (anode). If you connect
the two terminals with wire, a circuit is formed. Electrons will flow through
the wire and a current of electricity is produced. Inside the battery, a reaction
between chemicals take place. But the reaction takes place only if there is a
flow of electrons. Batteries can be stored for a long time and still work
because the chemical process doesn't start until the electrons flow from the
negative to the positive terminals through a circuit.
There are different type of simple energy conversation to make a battery. For
example:

Water battery
Lemon battery
Potato battery

Water battery
The concept behind it is to make a galvanic cell that works on either a salt
bridge or a sour bridge. In this case it's a salt bridge, but you could try using

plants or wine (instead of water) to create the same effect. You can make a
battery from these things that are easily available

Redstone
Bluestone
Water
Cables
6 plastic bottles
6 pieces of copper
6 pieces of zinc

Fill the bottles with water and connect the anodes and cathodes as anode is
Zinc plate and cathode is Copper plate with cables. Now put these plates in
bottle so that there is one zinc and one copper plate in every bottle. The
remaining two end of wires will be your output points. Now put Redstone in
one bottle and Bluestone in other bottle so that there are three redstone and
3 bluestone bottles. Its done. You have created battery. Each bottle will
produce around 2 volts.

Connect your mobile phone date cable to the output of this battery and your
mobile will start recharging.

Working
This is simple a galvanic cell in which we have used ZnSO4 and CuSO4 to get
electricity from charge transformation phenomena. Before explaining we
should know about reduction and oxidation reactions. Many difinitions can be
given to oxidation and reduction reactions. In terms of electrochemistry, the
following definition is most appropriate, because it let us see how the
electrons perform their roles in the chemistry of batteries.
Loss of electrons is oxidation, and gain of electrons is reduction.
Oxidation and reduction reactions cannot be carried out separately. They
have to appear together in a chemical reaction. Thus oxidation and reduction
reactions are often called redox reactions. In terms of redox reactions, a
reducing agent and an oxidizing agent form a redox couple as they undergo
the reaction:
Oxidant + n e- ----> Reductant
Reducant ----> Oxidant + n eAn oxidant is an oxidizing reagent, and a reductant is a reducing agent.
As an introduction to electrochemistry let us take a look of a simple Voltaic
cell or a galvanic cell. When a stick of zinc (Zn) is inserted in a salt solution,
there is a tendency for Zn to lose electron according to the reaction,
Zn = Zn2+ + 2 eThe arrangement of a Zn electrode in a solution containing Zn 2+ ions is a half
cell, which is usually represented by the notation:
Zn | Zn2+
Zinc metal and Zn2+ ion form a redox couple, Zn2+ being the oxidant, and Zn
the reductant. The same notation was used to designate a redox couple
earlier. Similarly, when a stick of copper (Cu) is inserted in a copper salt
solution, there is also a tendency for Cu to lose electron according to the
reaction,
Cu = Cu2+ + 2 eThis is another half cell or redox couple: Cu | Cu2+

However, the tendency for Zn to lose electron is stronger than that for
copper. When the two cells are connected by a salt bridge and an electric
conductor as shown to form a closed circuit for electrons and ions to flow,
copper ions (Cu2+) actually gains electron to become copper metal. The
reaction and the redox couple are respectively represented below
Cu2+ + 2 e- = Cu

Cu2+ | Cu

This arrangement is called a galvanic cell or battery as shown here. In a text

form, this battery is represented by,
Zn | Zn2+ || Cu2+ | Cu
in which the two vertical lines ( || ) represent a salt bridge, and a single
vertical line ( | ) represents the boundary between the two phases (metal and
solution). Electrons flow through the electric conductors connecting the
electrodes and ions flow through the salt bridge. When
[Zn2+] = [Cu2+] = 1.0 M,
A battery is a package of one or more galvanic cells used for the production
and storage of electric energy. The simplest battery consists of two half cells,
a reduction half cell and an oxidation half cell. The overall reaction of the
galvanic cell is
Zn + Cu2+ = Zn2+ + Cu
Note that this redox reaction does not involve oxygen at all. For a review,
note the following:
Oxidant + n e- = Reductant

Example: Cu2+ + 2 e-= Cu

Cu2+ is the oxidizing agent and Cu the reducing agent.
Reductant = n e- + Oxidant
Example: Zn = Zn2+ + 2 eZn is the reducing agent, and Zn2+ the oxidizing agent.
Theoretically, any redox couple may form a half cell, and any two half cells
may combine to give a battery but we have considerable technical difficulty
in making some couples into a half cell.

Lemon Battery
A very simple battery that uses a lemon that has two different metallic
objects inserted into it, for example a galvanized nail and a copper coin or
wire. The copper serves as the positive electrode or cathode and the
galvanized (zinc coated) nail as the electron-producing negative electrode or
anode. These two objects work as electrodes, causing an electrochemical
reaction which generates a small potential difference.
Since copper (Cu) atoms attract electrons more than zinc (Zn) atoms, if you
place a piece of copper and a piece of zinc in contact with each other,
electrons will pass from the zinc to the copper. As the electrons concentrate
on the copper they will repel each other and stop the flow of electrons from
zinc to copper. On the other hand, if you put strips of zinc and copper in a
conductive solution, and connect them externally with a wire, the reactions
between the electrodes and the solution will allow the electrons to flow
continuously through the wire.
A lemon battery is made with a lemon and two metallic electrodes of
different metals such as a copper penny or wire and a galvanized (zinc
coated) nail. The energy for the battery does not come from the lemon, but
rather the chemical change in zinc (or other metal). The zinc is oxidized
inside the lemon, exchanging some of its electrons in order to reach a lower
energy state, and the energy released provides the power. The lemon merely
provides an environment where this can happen, but they are not used up in
the process. Assuming that zinc and copper electrodes are used (such as a
copper coin and a zinc plated nail) then a single lemon could generate
approximately 0.9 Volts.

Working
In a lemon battery, both oxidation (loss of electrons) and reduction (gain of
electrons) occur. This battery is similar to the original "simple voltaic cells"
invented by Alessandro Volta (see below). At the anode, metallic zinc is
oxidized, and enters the acidic solution as Zn2+ ions:
Zn ----> Zn2+ + 2 eAt the copper cathode, hydrogen ions (solvated protons from the acidic
solution in the lemon) are reduced to form molecular hydrogen:
2H++ 2e- ----> H2
What makes the electrons move? When you let go of a ball you are holding it
falls to the ground because the Earth's gravitational field pulls the ball down.
In a similar way charged particles such as electrons need to have work done
to move them from one point to another. The amount of work per unit of
charge is called is called the electric potential difference between the two
points. The unit of potential difference is called the volt. The potential
difference between the cathode and anode are set up from the chemical
reaction. Inside the battery electrons are pushed by the chemical reaction
toward the positive end creating a potential difference. It is this potential
difference that drives the electrons through the wire. Potential difference can
be positive or negative, likened to gravitational energy, moving up a hill or
down a hill. In a battery the flow of electrons is downhill... electrons can flow
uphill as in the case of a battery charger.
Why don't electrons just move from anode to cathode inside the battery? The
electrolyte in the battery keeps lone electrons from going straight from the
anode to the cathode within the battery. When the terminals are connected
with a conductive wire, electrons can easily flow from anode to cathode.
What direction do electrons move in the wire? Electrons are negatively
charged, so they will be attracted to the positive end of a battery and
repelled by the negative end. When the battery is hooked up to a device that

lets the electrons flow through it, they flow from negative (anode) to positive
(cathode) terminal.

Potato Battery
We can also get energy by using potato instead of lemon in the same circuit
we used for lemon arrangement as we need

Zinc electrode
Copper electrode
Potatoes
Wires

To make a battery that can recharge a mobile or light up LED. Some

scientists have actually researched potatoes as a practical form of power.
While many different plants can serve as batteries, potatoes are especially
durable due to their high starch content. They do not rot easily or attract
pests to the same degree as fruits and other alternatives. Cooking potatoes
reduces their electrical resistance and actually makes them much more
powerful as batteries.

Working
Potato batteries require two different metal electrodes with different
electrical qualities to work. The most common materials are zinc and copper.
The acids in the potato react with the metals, creating an electron imbalance
at each electrode. Because it keeps the ions formed by the reaction
separate, but conducts electricity via its water and electrolytes, the reaction
forces the electrons in the copper electrode to move. This movement of
electrons is an electric current and is sufficient to power small devices.
The potato has a mild phosphoric acid content H3PO4

Reduction at Cu (copper) electrode:

2H+ + 2e- ----> H2 (gas)
Oxidation at Zn (zinc) electrode:
Zn ----> Zn+2 + 2eThe H3PO4 acid puts the hydrogen ions in solution. So basically, the
phosphoric acid in the potato acts like the acetic acid (vinegar).

Prepared By:

References
http://www.edinformatics.com/math_science/how_does_a_battery_work.htm
http://cosmology.berkeley.edu/Education/DEMOS/Potato_Power/Potato_Teache
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http://chemwiki.ucdavis.edu/Analytical_Chemistry/Electrochemistry/Electroch
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