Need an electric outlet and don't have one? No batteries on hand, either? Well, then you should use the next best thing - potatoes! In this tutorial, learn how to make that old science fair staple - the potato powered calculator! Check it out, it really works!
You Will Need:
* Two potatoes
* A marker
* Two pieces of heavy copper wire
* Two galvanized nails
* Three alligator clips with wires
* A low-voltage, battery-operated calculator
Step 1: Number potatoes
Label your potatoes one and two.
Step 2: Remove battery
Remove the batteries from the calculator. Take care to note where the positive and negative terminals are within the battery compartment.
Step 3: Insert nails
Insert a nail into each potato and stick a copper wire into each potato, opposite the nail.
Alligator clips, nails, and wire can be purchased at your local hardware store.
Step 4: Connect clips
Connect one alligator clip to the copper wire in potato no. 1 and attach the other end to the positive battery terminal in the calculator's compartment.
Step 5: Create second connection
Clip a second alligator clip to the nail in potato no. 2, and then connect the other end to the calculator's negative battery connection.
Step 6: Complete circuit
Complete the circuit by clipping the third alligator clip to the nail in potato one and to the copper wire in potato two. Voila, a working calculator!
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