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How to Make a Lemon Battery for a Lightbulb

It is possible to turn a lemon into a battery by a simple procedure of attaching wires to the lemon. You can view the electric current created through a multimeter, which measures the voltage. However, you would need about 30 lemons strung together to light even the most sensitive light bulb that is commercially available. And you would need almost 500 lemons strung together to have enough power to light a standard light bulb. Nevertheless, the lemon battery experiment is a classic one used in school rooms across the country, and is a simple, inexpensive way to explain electricity to children.

Things You'll Need

18-gauge copper wire
Wire clippers
Steel paper clip
Coarse sand paper
Lemon
Multimeter (optional)

Instructions

Create a Lemon Battery
- 1
  Cut wire insulation two inches down from the end of your copper wire with the clippers. Strip insulation off the wire from point of cutting.
- 2
  Straighten out the paperclip, and cut a two-inch strip of it.
- 3
  Rub sandpaper on the ends of wire and paperclip to smooth out any rough spots.
- 4
  Squeeze the lemon gently with your hands without rupturing the skin.
- 5
  Push the paperclip and wire into the lemon evenly, placing them as close as you can without them touching each other.
- 6
  Touch your wetted tongue (don't worry; it's perfectly safe) to the tip of the wire. You can feel the charge created.

Insects & Science