My stepson wants to make a simple battery listed at miniscience.com. They sell the kit for $25 plus $10 shipping. I can find most of the parts at a hardware store, but I'm not sure if they will have the magnesium and iron electrodes. Is that something I could find there or at Radio Shack or somewhere else?
2007-12-08 07:14:12 · 0 answers · asked by blue_prince_of_dallas 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Other - Science
The common nail should work for the Fe. There are fire starter kits which include a chunk of Mg that can be carved off in shavings. A potential substitute might be Zn. Galvanized steel is coated with Zn because Zn is higher on the electromotive series and will corrode preferentially to the Fe. Mg is higher on the series so it will produce a higher voltage. Technically, you can use any two different metals but the voltage produced depends on which two metals you use.
good luck
2007-12-08 08:39:06 · answer #1 · answered by Gary H 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Magnesium Electrode
2016-10-31 13:57:05 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
hmm the electrodes wouldnt need to be 'electrodes' as such. an iron nail would suffice (steel is ~99% iron, might effect the experiment though, but i doubt it). i dont know where you can get magnesium from, but i'm sure a high school chemistry teacher would give a bit for the cause!
you could look into its uses, and see where you might get it
2007-12-08 07:48:27 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Zinc will be easier to find and will do the job with easier to find iron as your other electrode. Nowadays, magnesium will be hard for a juvenile to come by. (So many 'flashy' things can be done with it.)
2016-03-13 10:23:03 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋