English Deutsch Français Italiano Español Português 繁體中文 Bahasa Indonesia Tiếng Việt ภาษาไทย
All categories

the equations: http://i3.tinypic.com/35hqsgk.jpg

2007-03-28 10:43:29 · 1 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics Physics

1 answers

To light a light bulb requires the flow of electricity through the bulb, current, to heat the resistive element, which emits photons. This requires a voltage produced from a source, such as a battery.

The lemon battery is simply a zinc/acid cell with the anode of zinc oxidizing to produce the Ionic zn^2+ and 2 free electrons. These electrons flow through the circuit where the light bulb is in series and arrive at the cathode, which is made of copper. Here the hydrogen ions in the citric acid (the bitter tasting juice) are reduced to pure hydrogen by combining with the electrons that arrive through the wires of the circuit. Note that the positive ions balance so the amount of positive charge and negative charge are equal.

If you want to have some fun, squeeze the juice into a shallow dish and immerse the anode at one end and the cathode at another, place a beaker upside down over the dish. Activate the circuit until the light dims a bit, then lift the beaker straight up and slip a lit match in. You will get a small, yet violent, hydrogen explosion.

Kids, don't try this at home.

j

2007-03-29 11:45:43 · answer #1 · answered by odu83 7 · 0 0

fedest.com, questions and answers