How to Colonize an Asteroid
How to Colonize an Asteroid
My first experiment with the battery was to connect an LED directly across the terminals. Note that LED's are polarised - you must connect the cathode (usually the marked leg) of the LED to the negative terminal (The side connected to the steel electrode).
The LED came on brightly at first (see crummy picture), but got fairly dim after about 20 seconds. At this point the voltage was a little over 1.7 vdc. The time was 12:03. At 12:35 the voltage was 1.735vdc, and at 12:45 the voltage was 1.733 vdc - and the LED was still shining at the same dim brightness it had just after initial activation. By 4:15, the voltage was still at 1.725 vdc and the LED was still lit.
After 5 WEEKS, the LED was still lit and the voltage was still above 1.7 volts. Most of the electrolyte (the water/vinegar solution) had evaporated by this time. A few days later, the electrolyte had completely evaporated and the battery went dead. The electrodes were badly corroded, and the bottom of the jars were filled with a brown crusty sludge. I added water to the jars and stirred them up a bit, and the voltage came back up to 1.5 volts! In theory, this battery would work until one of the electrodes was completely dissolved.
Some other experiments you could do might include;
Plot the discharge of the battery over time
to get an idea of how long it will work.
Try lighting a small flashlight bulb with the battery
- how does the higher current draw effect the battery?
If you use a regular "D" cell battery, can you charge
this one back up at all?
© 1999, Robert Lyon Richards