Elenco Snap Circuits Water Clock &reg - Manual (Page 2)

Assemble the Lliquid Energy Source. Connect the red & black
wires to the LED (D1); the red wire goes to the copper electrode.
Fill the compartments with cola soda (other soda flavors and lemon,
tomato, or grapefruit juice also work).
The LED should be on, though it may be dim. If dim, it is because the
cola cannot make as much electricity as the LED wants. If you watch
the circuit for a while, the LED brightness and voltage may slowly
drop as the cola reacts with the electrodes to produce electricity.
You can move the copper electrode with the snap on it over to the
next compartment, as shown in the Liquid Battery project. The LED
will be dimmer or not light at all, because the voltage is lower.
If the copper and zinc electrodes get corroded through use, use
sandpaper, steel wool, or a scraper to remove the corrosion and
improve performance.
Don’t drink any soda or juice used in this project. Wash the
electrodes and liquid holder.
Replace the soda in the
liquid energy source with
fruit juice. Sour tasting
juices like lemon or
grapefruit work best. See
how bright the LED gets.
Try different juices and
compare them. Don’t
drink any soda or juice
used in this project. Wash
the electrodes and liquid
holder.
Project #2 Juice Light
Project #1 Cola Light
Connect the liquid energy
source to the LED (D1). Fill
the compartments with
water. The red LED (D1)
may be dimly lit, depending
on your local water supply.
Dissolve some salt in the
water
in all four
compartments. The voltage
will be higher and the LED
should light now. See how
long it lights the LED for.
Try replacing the red LED
with the clock (T2). See how
long the water can run the
clock.
Don’t drink any water used
in this project. Wash the
electrodes and liquid holder.
Project #3 Water Light
Soda can be used in this way to
produce electricity, but it does not
produce very much, so is not
widely used. However, biomass
power plants, which burn decaying
food products and yard waste, are
increasingly being used. These
plants produce electricity from
garbage that would otherwise be
filling up landfills, and they don’t
pollute the environment.
The water in some areas is
slightly acidic due to impurities
in it. This may be strong enough
to produce electricity by reacting
with the electrodes, similar to
how a battery works. These
impurities should be safe to
drink. Adding salt to the water
increases the impurities. Some fruits and vegetables have a
sour taste because they are lightly
acidic. This acid can be used to
produce electricity just like the cola
and batteries do.
Using the natural chemical energy in
fruit is a very green (environmentally
friendly) way to produce electricity.
If you had pipes pumping
fresh cola into the liquid
cells and removing some
of the used liquid, then the
LED would stay lit as long
as the flow was maintained
- it would be a fuel cell.
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Liquid Energy Source