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How to Make a Light Bulb Glow With Two Batteries & Aluminum Foil

You can create a simple electrical circuit with D-cell batteries, a flashlight bulb and aluminum foil. Demonstrate that the light bulb shines more brightly with two or three batteries than with one. Show your child, or your class, that the bulb doesn̵7;t shine as brightly after the battery has been used for some time.

Things You'll Need

2 D-size batteries
Duct tape
3-volt No. 47 or No. 48 flashlight bulb

Instructions

- 1
  Tape the two D batteries together using the duct tape, with the positive pole of one battery touching the negative pole of the other one.
- 2
  Cut a piece of aluminum foil 4 inches wide and 12 inches long. Fold the foil in half vertically three times. The resulting piece of foil will be 1/2 inch wide and 12 inches long.
- 3
  Tape one end of the aluminum foil to the negative pole, or flat end, of the bottom battery. Touch the side of the flashlight bulb to the positive pole of the top battery, the part that looks like a little button on top of the battery.
- 4
  Touch the other end of the aluminum foil to the bottom of the light bulb and watch the bulb light up.

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