Miller- Penny battery

Okay, so I've looked around for an idea for an instructable. And I found one that I want to do my own rendition of, the penny battery. So this idea is not completely original, I'm not claiming it as mine. I'm just using the materials and methods that I think will be the most effective. My hope is to power and LED light or a small fan if possible. But if I make the led die, then I have sufficiently surpassed my expectations. Let's get started.

Step 1: Materials

These are all the things you will need. I will include my list as well as some substitutes that I've seen.

5-7 Pennies
Paper towels (I used shop towels, but I've seen everything from cardboard to cloth)
Lemon juice (salt or vinegar works too)
Sand paper
Tape-recommended
LED

Comments

[mb inventor]

how long will this run for?

[Alex Mercer]

Aaah...... I know.... There is electricity because... the lemon contains acid. HE HE HE.... I will use acid....

[Alex Mercer]

and the pennies divide + and -

[mr_man]

Make sure the penny is dated 1983 or newer so you can be sure it has a zinc core.

[Derek Vigil]

How powerful is the 6 cents?

[saragorton]

i have tried your method but as i know it was a complete failure so i just used my dremel multie task tool

[khaw]

The "defacing currency" statute is always misconstrued. It's only a crime if your intent is to commit a fraud (i.e. tear the corner off four $100 bills, tape them onto a $1 bill, turn the whole stack into the bank for $500). See http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1405/is-it-legal-to-put-a-hole-in-a-quarter-and-sell-it for details.

[Greasetattoo]

Great instructable...
Surprised they didn't make yours Featured! Hmmm

[ttarler]

What the lemon solution is in chemistry is a salt bridge. All that matters here is that is an ionic solution. Since lemon acid is a weak acid it will not act as well as salt water, since there are less ions in the solution..

[tom_morphew]

I haven't seen this before so thanks! I'm guessing this will not work with a UK penny? They are made from copper plated steel.

[MadScott]

NP. You're allowed to "deface" coins to make jewelry (or batteries) so long as you don't use automated equipment to do it.