Do we have the raw materials in our copper and zinc pennies to build a good battery source if energy costs gets out of control? I half-jokingly ask this, but I will sit down this week and calculate the voltage potentials for a reasonable size cell:
Once a zinc penny loses a portion of copper plating and gets immersed in a media with moisture - like dirt, there is a reaction where the zinc is an anode and sacrifices itself to protect the copper and a current will flow - tiny battery. That's where all the corrosion comes in.
Right, I remember for some reason as a teen taking the zinc pennies and sticking them to the inside of my VW bug. I figured that after hearing that pipelines use zinc as an electron source to counteract corrosion that I could do the same with zinc pennies to cut down on the rust on my VW. LOL. The electrical potential for a standardized cell of zinc and copper is 1.1 volts. If you substitute silver for copper, you get a 1.55 volt potential.
Copper-zinc batteries?
Forum Locked
Posted - 06/08/2008 : 17:19:53
