A pair of lemons and a trip to the hardware store is all you need to convert natural chemical energy into electrical power.
A common lemon can provide acid, as well as potatoes if you're out of lemons.
Step 1
Place the lemons on a plate.
Step 2
Push one nail into each lemon and then, as far away from the nails as possible, push your copper wire into a lemon. Label your lemons 1 and 2. What you're doing now is creating a closed circuit, so energy can flow from the lemon and back again.
Step 3
Open up the clock's battery compartment. Depending on your clock, there are two AA batteries, or one battery that looks a little like a button.
Step 4
Remove the battery. You'll be replacing its energy with the lemon, nail and copper concoction you just created.
Step 5
Use the electrician's clip on lemon number 1 to connect the copper wire to the positive point in the clock. This is easier said than done. If you can't connect your wire to the positive point in the battery compartment, you should remove the plastic backing and open up the clock. An adult should help you with this, and the clock may not go back together.
Step 6
Look inside the clock. Inside, you'll see the positive an negative points are connected to wires on the inside of the clock. Remove the wires from the back of the battery compartment and then use them to make your connections. If you have a two AA battery clock and inside you find two positive wires, make sure you connect your copper wire with both. That was the hard part.
Step 7
Connect the nail to the clock's negative point on lemon number 2. You may need to move the lemon into a new position so you can clip the nail to the clock.
Step 8
Link the copper wire from lemon number two to the nail sticking out of lemon number one.
Tips
- You'll see that you made an electrical circuit. The clock should work now.
- If the clock doesn't work, don't flip out just yet. Make sure all the connections are secure and then double check the directions. If several months from now the clock stops, replace the lemons or the nails and it will start keeping time again.
Warnings
Things You'll Need
- A battery operated digital clock without a plug. It can use two AA batteries, or a round battery. Depending on the connections, you have to rig the wires in different ways, but that's where the fun starts.
- Two sort of large galvanized nails. I used a 16d, 3 1/2 inches- a solid nail. Galvanized nails are a must.
- Copper wire. Uncoated is easier.
- Three electrician's clips.
- Two lemons, or one really large lemon cut in half.
