4 ms·

This is wrong on so many levels it's hard to know where to begin. Poor people don't need small LED lights and it obviously won't charge a phone. Not sure what

This is wrong on so many levels it's hard to know where to begin. Poor people don't need small LED lights and it obviously won't charge a phone. Not sure what the whole "the potato is not, in and of itself, an energy source" is rambling on about. Boiling a potato takes a lot of energy, obviously way more than a battery/potato can deliver. Here's the rat attractant battery - https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Potato-battery-basic-composition-and-performance-Potato-Zn-Cu-galvanic-cell-battery_fig1_239391768 https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Potato-battery-basic-com... But jumping to the mathematics I simply don't believe it would be cheaper than a battery I do believe a potato has a lot of energy, I'd assume much much more than a D Cell, but to turn that to usable electrical energy cheaper than a battery I'd be very surprised. I doubt this, but are unsure. [edit] Here's someone who ran their clock for 6 months on a potato (Still not proving either way which is cheaper) - https://www.amazon.com/ask/questions/Tx3AUA83YPS7DMP/ https://www.amazon.com/ask/questions/Tx3AUA83YPS7DMP/

panchayoooot 6y ago
>Poor people don't need small LED lights Huh? Reliable light is one of the best things to provide impoverished areas with, after clean water/food/medicine/sewage. It's one of those things that we really take for granted, but if someone dropped you in the middle of the woods, I bet a headlamp and power source would be one of the first conveniences that you'd ask for. Anyways, like others have pointed out, the energy comes from charge carriers moving between the metals stuck in the potato, not the potato itself. That particular misconception comes up surprisingly often, to the point that it's kind of a running joke in its own right. Portal 2 had a pretty tongue-in-cheek take on the gag.
- aaron695 6y ago
  You'll find in practice they can afford a cheap led light and battery what they need is a charger for their phone (And clean water/micro-nutrients/medicine/sewage~=clean water) And wow, potato batteries are a scam. Fool I am. So boiling them won't release more energy to electricity... I guess... I'll need to sit down and work it out. I don't get why a cheaper fluid that doesn't rot won't work ok then. Why is there no web page explaining this Sci Fair scam. Why a potato over salty water? Or a steak. Or a lump of dirt. What's the relationship between a potato having energy and the fact it's used in potato batteries.
  - panchayoooot 6y ago
    Oh, it's not a science fair scam - it's a great way for kids to learn about electricity! Compare it to sticking similar nails in a few other objects, and you've got yourself a poster. But it's also not as simple as growing a field of lumpy batteries.
giardini 6y ago
aaron695 says:>Poor people don't need small LED lights... < I commonly find myself asking for a flashlight when helping friends or acquaintances with everyday fixes. I wish I had a potato for every time they offered me their (dim, unwieldy and dysfunctional) cellphone with flashlight app. In the old days, everyone had these widgets called "flashlights" in their homes. These flashlights worked well and had backup batteries. Today we have a bunch of morons groping in the dark with cellphones. Fun time watching the cellphones die out during the Texas Freeze event weeks ago. "Anyone got a flashlight?" I now know the proper response is "Nope, but we've plenty of potatoes!"
- implements 6y ago
  I can recommend this type of small “everyday carry” style torch: https://www.olightstore.com/i3t-eos.html https://www.olightstore.com/i3t-eos.html having got one for my Mum so she could check the time on her watch during the night. Small, single AAA, single end-cap button / two modes - defaults to dim, second quick press for bright.
  - giardini 6y ago
    implements says >"having got one for my Mum so she could check the time on her watch during the night."< $39 is stiff for a AAA flashlight! How about $3: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Rayovac-LED-3-lumens-Flashlight/17163358 https://www.walmart.com/ip/Rayovac-LED-3-lumens-Flashlight/1... This one has a laser and costs only $6: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Rayovac-LED-Laser-Pointer-Flashlight-22-Lumens-3-AAA-Batteries-Included/35840898 https://www.walmart.com/ip/Rayovac-LED-Laser-Pointer-Flashli... How about a candle and a box of matches? Or this for $1.50: https://www.walmart.com/ip/BIC-Classic-Pocket-Lighter-Assorted-Colors-1-Count/31954968 https://www.walmart.com/ip/BIC-Classic-Pocket-Lighter-Assort...
    - implements 6y ago
      In my defence, I did say “this type of” - but the equivalents you found looked good. Not sure about the proposed ‘fire + mother’ combination, though.
burnished 6y ago
Sure, in energy rich nations! But in lots of parts of the world people do not have access to much electricity for lighting.
- aaron695 6y ago
  I've visited people who live on less than $1.90 a day. They generally have power to run any led lights that might run off a potato. They often had access to a motorcycle and access to a cell phone. One example for electricity is to rent car batteries for the night to charge their phones and run TV's, both vital to help people escape poverty. They don't want solar lights or bicycles. They need mobility and information flow on their own terms. Give them eBay not Wikipedia / a book with a light. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/315719288_Can_Solar_Lanterns_Improve_Youth_Academic_Performance_Experimental_Evidence_from_Bangladesh https://www.researchgate.net/publication/315719288_Can_Solar... Those minority who don't even have a led light have some pretty big issues. Night time lighting is low on the list, you could just give them a torch and battery not a complicated potato device if it mattered.

panchayoooot 6y ago

>Poor people don't need small LED lights Huh? Reliable light is one of the best things to provide impoverished areas with, after clean water/food/medicine/sewage. It's one of those things that we really take for granted, but if someone dropped you in the middle of the woods, I bet a headlamp and power source would be one of the first conveniences that you'd ask for. Anyways, like others have pointed out, the energy comes from charge carriers moving between the metals stuck in the potato, not the potato itself. That particular misconception comes up surprisingly often, to the point that it's kind of a running joke in its own right. Portal 2 had a pretty tongue-in-cheek take on the gag.

aaron695 6y ago
You'll find in practice they can afford a cheap led light and battery what they need is a charger for their phone (And clean water/micro-nutrients/medicine/sewage~=clean water) And wow, potato batteries are a scam. Fool I am. So boiling them won't release more energy to electricity... I guess... I'll need to sit down and work it out. I don't get why a cheaper fluid that doesn't rot won't work ok then. Why is there no web page explaining this Sci Fair scam. Why a potato over salty water? Or a steak. Or a lump of dirt. What's the relationship between a potato having energy and the fact it's used in potato batteries.
- panchayoooot 6y ago
  Oh, it's not a science fair scam - it's a great way for kids to learn about electricity! Compare it to sticking similar nails in a few other objects, and you've got yourself a poster. But it's also not as simple as growing a field of lumpy batteries.

giardini 6y ago

aaron695 says:>Poor people don't need small LED lights... < I commonly find myself asking for a flashlight when helping friends or acquaintances with everyday fixes. I wish I had a potato for every time they offered me their (dim, unwieldy and dysfunctional) cellphone with flashlight app. In the old days, everyone had these widgets called "flashlights" in their homes. These flashlights worked well and had backup batteries. Today we have a bunch of morons groping in the dark with cellphones. Fun time watching the cellphones die out during the Texas Freeze event weeks ago. "Anyone got a flashlight?" I now know the proper response is "Nope, but we've plenty of potatoes!"

implements 6y ago
I can recommend this type of small “everyday carry” style torch: https://www.olightstore.com/i3t-eos.html https://www.olightstore.com/i3t-eos.html having got one for my Mum so she could check the time on her watch during the night. Small, single AAA, single end-cap button / two modes - defaults to dim, second quick press for bright.
- giardini 6y ago
  implements says >"having got one for my Mum so she could check the time on her watch during the night."< $39 is stiff for a AAA flashlight! How about $3: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Rayovac-LED-3-lumens-Flashlight/17163358 https://www.walmart.com/ip/Rayovac-LED-3-lumens-Flashlight/1... This one has a laser and costs only $6: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Rayovac-LED-Laser-Pointer-Flashlight-22-Lumens-3-AAA-Batteries-Included/35840898 https://www.walmart.com/ip/Rayovac-LED-Laser-Pointer-Flashli... How about a candle and a box of matches? Or this for $1.50: https://www.walmart.com/ip/BIC-Classic-Pocket-Lighter-Assorted-Colors-1-Count/31954968 https://www.walmart.com/ip/BIC-Classic-Pocket-Lighter-Assort...
  - implements 6y ago
    In my defence, I did say “this type of” - but the equivalents you found looked good. Not sure about the proposed ‘fire + mother’ combination, though.

burnished 6y ago

Sure, in energy rich nations! But in lots of parts of the world people do not have access to much electricity for lighting.

aaron695 6y ago
I've visited people who live on less than $1.90 a day. They generally have power to run any led lights that might run off a potato. They often had access to a motorcycle and access to a cell phone. One example for electricity is to rent car batteries for the night to charge their phones and run TV's, both vital to help people escape poverty. They don't want solar lights or bicycles. They need mobility and information flow on their own terms. Give them eBay not Wikipedia / a book with a light. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/315719288_Can_Solar_Lanterns_Improve_Youth_Academic_Performance_Experimental_Evidence_from_Bangladesh https://www.researchgate.net/publication/315719288_Can_Solar... Those minority who don't even have a led light have some pretty big issues. Night time lighting is low on the list, you could just give them a torch and battery not a complicated potato device if it mattered.