Introduction
An earthquake inspires this science experiment. As we know, the people who are living in earthquake-prone areas get no electricity after an earthquake and are completely thrown into the darkness after the sunsets. Therefore, using the material available in our home, today we will find a way to create alternative power supply during a disaster like an earthquake.
Aim
To find an alternative way to generate electricity using the things available at home.
Theory
1. Power cuts after an earthquake are common because they reduce the risk of hazardous problems.
2. Some countries like Japan are trying to reduce the power cut during earthquakes by turning down the heat and dimming the lights.
Requirements
1. Galvanized Iron Nail
2. Copper Wires
3. Bleach
4. Ammeter
5. Voltmeter
6. Notebook
Procedure
Step 1: To perform this experiment, search for various materials that could help light up LED bulbs or a radio.
Step 2: Take Copper wires and Galvanized iron nails. These two materials will act as electrodes in creating a battery.
Step 3: Take bleach. This will act as the electrolytes in creating a battery.
Step 4: Using ammeters, measure the generated current. Thereafter, using a voltmeter, measure the voltage.
Step 5: The generated current and voltage would be 0.6 volts and 0.1 milliamperes.
Step 6: Now, find the number of watts that a radio battery needs to generate electricity by multiplying the voltage and current.
Step 7: On multiplying, you will get the result at 52 milliwatts.
Step 8: But our homemade batteries have a power capacity of 0.3 milliwatts. This would require more batteries.
Step 9: To find the number of batteries, divide the radio requirements by our homemade battery capabilities. They will give the number 170.
Step 10: Round this to 200 nails.
Step 11: Double the amount to solve the efficiency loss problems in homemade batteries. This means instead of using 200 batteries, use 400 now.
Observation
1. The homemade battery that we created in our experiment got successful in powering radio and LED light.
2. We observed some interesting things as well. These are given below.
3. On arranging the batteries in a series combination, we got more volts, but they lasted for a small time.
4. On arranging the batteries in a parallel combination, we got less volts, but it lasted for a longer time.
Result
1. We saw that we could create a homemade battery from home materials that could be helpful during an Earthquake by bringing some light into the darkness.
2. There are other materials that we thought could help but were not as effective as vinegar. It did not produce much voltage.
3. The solution that was prepared from soda and bleach produced a lot more voltage than bleach.
Precautions
1. Use soda and bleach solution for generating voltage.
2. Join the batteries in series carefully.
3. Record your observation precisely.
Conclusion
We prepared a way to create alternative power supply during a disaster, a homemade battery that could help prove beneficial during natural calamities in this experiment.
VIVA Questions With Answers
Q.1 What was the aim of your experiment?
ANS. We aimed to determine whether we could make any homemade batteries that could get used during earthquake.
Q.2 What material did you use as a solution for producing voltage?
ANS. We used the solution of Bleach and soda to produce a large voltage.
Q.3 Why didn’t you use vinegar as a voltage-producing solution?
ANS. We found that organic materials like vinegar could not produce much voltage as compared to inorganic ones. Therefore we did not use it.

Saquib Siddiqui is a Mechanical Engineer and a content creator. He has special interest in science experiments and teaches the same to school and college students. He is also a technical lead at RUDE LABS PVT. LTD.
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