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How to Electrocute A Pickle (Starring Jim Cramer)

video How to Electrocute A Pickle (Starring Jim Cramer)

The Electric Pickle chemistry demonstration is a way for students to see how excited electrons will emit light when they fall back to the ground state. Since pickles are soaked in salt, Na+ and Cl- ions are present. Thus pickle will conduct electricity. The Na+ when excited will emit an orange yellow color when the electrons fall to the ground state. If I were a Physics teacher I could use the demonstration to show resistance in an electricity unit. Alas, I do not teach Physics.

Set up you need a plug that is cut exposing the two wires

Connect each wire to a metal object (I used nails)
jam into pickle

****plug in with one hand (as to not have and electricity jump through your heart if there is a short.

*** working with exposed wires is dangerous, be careful

13 comments

Sep 22, 2010. 6:43 PMjp442 says:

I tried this last weekend, with a meter on the wire it only used about 1.6 amps! no where near enough to blow a normal 15amp breaker

Jan 25, 2008. 7:42 PMnf119 says:

Saw this in CSI a few weeks ago. It'll make a good mood lamp.

Apr 16, 2009. 11:51 AMfreerunnin1 says:

it would smell a bit tho :S

Sep 6, 2008. 5:05 PMwebbhost says:

is it just me who feels a little uncomfortable about shoving nails in a pickle, and plugging into the mains? I got that right didn't I? Dont think i'll be trying this one. I dont want to blow the house fuses or burn my house down today. Seriously through is it connected to mains? I would feel safer if you could put a 12 volt battery onto it and use a transformer to up the voltage?

Mar 15, 2009. 5:34 PMZaphod Beeblebrox says:

me too!

Jan 31, 2008. 10:15 PMThe Expert Noob says:

I did this once with a neon sign transformer in my computer/electronics class after my Jacob's ladder failed and shorted the classroom circuit breaker!!!!!

Jul 6, 2008. 12:42 PMmannys9130 says:

it could not have been a neon sign transformer, because they have short protection via a magnetic shunt on the core. If you short out a neon, they will short without blowing the breaker. A neon sign tube is a short in its own, so it is made to be shorted out. It must have been something that was not current limited. microwave oven transformer perhaps?