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How to Make an Edison Cell Battery

The Edison cell battery, also called the nickel-iron battery, is a power source developed by Thomas Edison in 1901. Iron was used as the anode, nickel oxide-hydroxideas was the cathode and potassium hydroxide was the electrolyte. These batteries were very durable and robust, surviving a long time even if undercharged or overcharged. Unfortunately, they did not catch on as well as Edison's other inventions. Making an Edison cell battery is not as difficult as it sounds.

Things You'll Need

Safety goggles and gloves
Iron plate
Nickel plate
Perfboard
Drill
Mason Jar
Distilled water
Pyrex beaker
Potassium hydroxide

Instructions

- 1
  Put on your safety gloves and goggles.
- 2
  Fill a Pyrex beaker with 1/5 potassium hydroxide and 4/5 distilled water. Make sure to pour the water in first and then slowly mix in the potassium hydroxide. It's important you don't do it the wrong way around.
- 3
  Wait for the potassium hydroxide to react to the water. You will know when this has happened because the solution will give off heat.
- 4
  Connect a wire to the nickel plate. Cover the connection between the plate and wire with epoxy.
- 5
  Join a wire to the iron plate. Again, cover this connection with epoxy.
- 6
  Drill two holes in the lid of the jar big enough for the narrow sections of your binding posts to fit through but too small for the wider sections. Basically, large enough to hold the binding posts without their falling through.
- 7
  Connect the wires from the nickel and iron plates to the binding posts, on the underside of the lid.
- 8
  Attach the sheet of perfboard between the plates. The perfboard will act as an insulator.
- 9
  Place the nickel plate, iron plate and perfboard into the mason jar. Leave the lid uncovered for now but still close to the jar, as the binding posts are connected to the plates.
- 10
  Pour the potassium hydroxide solution you made previously into the jar with the plates. The solution should not reach the point where the wires connect to the plate or even get close to this point.
- 11
  Place the lid onto the jar and screw it on tightly. If you've done this right, the potassium hydroxide will be in the jar with the iron and nickel plates, which will be connected to the binding posts protruding from the lid of the jar.

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