Proof of Efficacy Document

Original design

Developing Design 1
 Developing Design 2

Final Design

Description:
Our device took advantage of the acidity of the lemon to create electricity. It was constructed out
of 3 lemons, sliced into quarters, with 2 nodes for each “cell”. This device primarily focused on
two energy transfers: chemical to electrical and electrical to light and heat. The potential
chemical energy of the magnesium and copper was converted to electrical through the
introducing of citric acid between the two. This started a reaction with the magnesium that
released 2 electrons, creating a flow of electricity. The flow of electricity flows through a
semiconductor in the LED, producing light. The lemon and wire were not perfect conductors
either and some energy was lost to heat.

Evolution:
Several modifications were made to the original design of our project. The zinc nodes were
exchanged for magnesium ones due to a higher reactivity of magnesium creating more charge.
The amount of nodes was reduced from 6 to only 2(one of each) per lemon to reduce the
amount of resistance within the circuit. The lemons were sliced into multiple cells to create more
isolate reaction sites as a way of creating more electricity.

Technical Specifications:
Several different forms of energy were manifested through the device within this project.
Chemical energy is the potential energy that is stored between the bonds of molecules and
electrons. When a chemical reaction occurs, some of this energy is released. The release of this
energy in our project is electrical energy, the flow of electrons through a conductive material. A
part of this flow passes through a semiconductor inside of the LED, exciting photons into waves
of light. The lemon and copper are both imperfect conductors and therefore lose energy to heat
as they transfer electricity. Gas was also released during this reaction taking heat energy away
with it.
Trial(description) Voltage

1(1 whole w/ zinc and 12 nodes) -

2(1 whole w/ magnesium and 12 nodes) 1.45

3(2 halves w/ 2 nodes each) 3.29

4(4 quarters w/ 2 nodes each) 5.66

5(12 quarters w/ 2 nodes each) 13.77

The ideal voltage for our lemon battery was 2.53 volts per cell based on the equation is E​o​Cell​ =
E​o​cathode​ - E​o​anode​. The max voltage on average was 1.8 volts per cell meaning .73 volts were lost
at some point within the device, likely to heat from resistance and the releasing hydrogen gas.
Oxidation: Citric Acid(C6H8O7) + Magnesium(Mg) ➝ Magnesium Citrate(​C6H6MgO7)+
Hydrogen (H2)

This reaction produced 2 spare electrons when the metal was inserted in the lemon. These
electrons were then reduced at the copper node to produce an electric current. This set of
reactions produced the current of electrical energy.

Design Overview:
Overall, the lemons were found to be fairly ineffective as batteries. They tended to mold after a
few days of use due to lack refrigeration within the work environment, leading to unreliable
voltage. Lemons additionally have a low concentration of citric acid and citric acid itself is not
particular strong, leading to a low overall voltage and usefulness.