{"id":8779,"date":"2014-04-01T00:10:29","date_gmt":"2014-04-01T07:10:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/?p=8779"},"modified":"2014-04-01T00:10:29","modified_gmt":"2014-04-01T07:10:29","slug":"u-transylvania-announces-3-kw-per-kilogram-potato-battery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/u-transylvania-announces-3-kw-per-kilogram-potato-battery\/","title":{"rendered":"U of Transylvania Announces 3 kW-Hr per Kilogram Potato Battery"},"content":{"rendered":"

Obviously inspired by seminal research on potato batteries in Portland, Oregon, University of Transylvania researchers led by Dr. James Whale, Director of the Tuber Genetics Energetics Laboratory, announced a major breakthrough in GMO plant life with the hope for impressive gains in electric vehicle dynamics.<\/span><\/p>\n

Officials in America\u2019s Southeast warn that the U of T is NOT to be confused with Transylvania University<\/a>, an actual liberal arts college in Lexington, Kentucky.\u00a0 Such confusion has led to a glut of applications from potential students with \u201cdecidedly loopy\u201d academic credentials and \u201cdangerously bizarre\u201d ideas for research, according to a TU spokesperson.<\/p>\n

The earlier effort, a low-budget research project<\/a>, showed that potato batteries in large quantities and wired up like a really big science fair exhibit could generate useful energy.<\/p>\n

\"Enough<\/a>

Enough potatoes wired appropriately in series and parallel can run a sound system<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cI built a potato battery out of 500 pounds of potatoes. It powered a small sound system. With the help of the\u00a0Red 76<\/a>\u00a0crew (a local arts collaborative) I installed the battery and sound system in the back of a U-Haul truck and drove it around town inviting people to enter the truck and take a listen.<\/p>\n

\"Even<\/a>

Even 500 pounds of potatoes leave plenty of room for a sound system<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cBatteries work by allowing electrons to pass from one electrode to another. In this case the potato provides phosphoric acid, which enables a chemical reaction causing electrons flow from copper to zinc. The zinc came from galvanized nails and copper came from small pieces of copper. You don’t have to use potatoes; any acidic medium such as citrus fruit will work. I chose potatoes because they are traditional and cheap.<\/p>\n

\u201cEach potato generates about 0.5 volts and 0.2 milliamperes. I connected groups of potatoes together in series to increase voltage and then connected these groups together in parallel to increase amperage. The entire 500 lb. battery generated around 5 volts and 4 milliamperes.<\/p>\n

The writer leaves us with a dietary warning.\u00a0 \u201cDon’t eat potatoes after using them for a battery.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. Whale, having examined that report and seeing a way around that last warning, rebuilt his laboratory, which had been destroyed by local peasants waving firebrands and pitchforks, and dedicated it to developing new power sources that would be safer than that obtained by the lightning rods on the roof of the previous edifice.<\/p>\n

\"Dr.<\/a>

Dr. Frye, left, assists the late Dr. Frankenstein in the earlier U of T laboratory<\/p><\/div>\n

Discovering a heart-shaped potato, Whale and his research associate, Dr. Dwight Frye, felt that this mutation (solanum tuberosum<\/i>) had the potential to develop into a strong energy source if its high density could be reduced.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u201cWe felt that it would be even better if we could make it light-hearted,\u201d Frye snickered.<\/p>\n

\"Heart=shaped<\/a>

Heart-shaped tuber inspired latest round of potato battery research<\/p><\/div>\n

The Laboratory\u2019s development, \u201cPotato Battery Lite\u2122,\u201d reduces the normal potato\u2019s density from 40-to-48 pounds per cubic foot to that of potato chips, which weigh in as low as 3.5 pounds per cubic foot.\u00a0 Even better, when coupled with lithium-sulfur anodes and carbon nanotube cathodes, the potato chip battery produces an astonishing amount of energy, up to 3 kilowatt-hours per kilogram.\u00a0 This could reduce a Leaf\u2019s battery from 300 kilograms (660 pounds with control module) to 24 pounds, or with the same battery weight increase the car’s range to over 3,000 miles.<\/p>\n

Whale and Frye caution that the current battery is prone to crumbling into microscopic bits when accidentally sat on during NCAA playoffs, and nearly impossible to vacuum out of couch crevices. \u00a0\u00a0With ordinary \u00a0light potato chips priced at around $3.29 for a 12-ounce bag, costs for the new batteries could be revolutionary, although cycle lifetime (especially because of their salty goodness) is not yet established.<\/p>\n

Further research may lead to a sea salt and vinegar combination that promises even greater energy density.<\/p>\n