🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <4@chasefrs.UUCP> saul@chasefrs.UUCP (Saul Goldfisher) writes:
> After connecting 12 lemons I can get 2.2 volts but not enough amperage
> to light a 1.2v 2.2 mA bulb.  Any suggestions on how to improve the
> amperage output?

	Easy -- use bigger lemons!  This is not as stupid as it sounds; the
voltage of each cell is a function of the electrochemical potential
difference between the two metal electrodes (I think this is typically done
with zinc and copper strips; but I guess aluminum is easier to find).  The
maximum current will be mostly a function of the internal resistance of the
electrolyte (the lemon).  A bigger lemon will have a lower internal
resistance so it will give you more current.  Using wider metal strips may
help as well.  I suppose using something like a grapefruit might help
because it's bigger than a lemon, but I don't know how the resistivity
(resistance per unit volume) of a lemon and a grapefruit compare.

	BTW, cooks have a trick for getting more juice out of a lemon.  You
roll the lemon around on a table under the palm of your hand; this breaks
open the internal membranes, making it easier to squeze more juice out of
it.  This might help get more electrical "juice" out of the fruit as well.

	The straight-forward way, of course, is to just hook up a bunch of
lemons in series-parallel.  More in series; higher voltage.  More in
parallel; higher current capacity.  If all else fails, try hiding some
Ni-Cads in each lemon. :-)
-- 
Roy Smith, {allegra,cmcl2,philabs}!phri!roy
System Administrator, Public Health Research Institute
455 First Avenue, New York, NY 10016

"you can't spell deoxyribonucleic without unix!"