Building Circuits!

Hello hello! =)

Welcome back to my blog. For newcomers, let me give you a quick summary of my project. Basically, I am trying to create an easy and affordable flashlight that is powered by saltwater. Saltwater batteries are not something unknown to the world, but the main part of my project is figuring out the most convenient circuit to use, and incorporating it into a simple flashlight. By the time the semester is done, I don't think I can finish designing my torch, but I want to definitely finish creating a fully working circuit. This is a project I surely intend to continue even after the school year is over.

Over the past few days, I have started trying out different circuit designs. A picture can be seen below. I still haven't been able to light up an LED yet, but after lots of trying, I checked with my voltmeter and there was a pretty decent voltage difference created by my saltwater battery! I had to connect two batteries in series- hence the two cups- to get a greater voltage. So my plan to get the light to shine is to put another cup in series, which would increase the voltage even more. For those who don't know, a voltmeter is the yellow device on the right (of the picture) which measures current, voltage and resistance of a circuit. The number on it is the voltage difference in my battery. Of course, right now the whole design is very large and definitely cannot be fixed into a flashlight. But getting the circuit to work is just the first step of this stage, so I want to get that right first.

My initial circuit. The saltwater battery is made out of galvanized nails, copper pennies, saltwater, and lots of wires! A voltage difference was created, and each bulb has a different voltage difference that it lights up with. 

The semester is coming to an end and our final presentations are in just a couple of weeks! 20 Time is really the future of education and learning, so I am very thankful for this opportunity to explore what I enjoy and find interesting.

Check in next week for (hopefully) a working circuit! Thanks guys :)

-Nandita