Kid Science: Making a Clock with Fruit

The boys had a family birthday party the other day and I find that I can get just as excited about some of the gifts as they do.  They received a science kit that involved powering an LCD clock with an orange and lemon.  The kit came with everything you need, but it would be fairly easy to get all the supplies you needed without the kit and make this from scratch.

The idea is you have two wires each with a copper end and a zinc end.  You have two acidic fruits (limes/lemons, oranges) that you put insert the wires into.   The first fruit will get the copper end from one wire and the zinc end from the other wire.  The other fruit will likewise finish the circuit with the zinc and copper end that are still left.

Electrons flow from the zinc/copper electrodes and the medium to carry those electrons is the acidic juice in the fruit.  A car battery is a much more powerful version of this natural battery with a much stronger acid.    A pretty cool way to make electricity!