Homemade Solar Cells & Electricity
- 1). Snip two 5 inch by 3 inch copper rectangles with your tin snips. Set one copper rectangle aside (it must stay shiny) and place the other on a stovetop burner.
- 2). Turn the heat on your burner up to the highest setting. Let the copper bake for about 30 minutes. The copper will show colorful, swirling patterns for a few minutes, then turn black. Don't worry; the cuprous oxide (oxidized copper) is underneath the black layer.
- 3). Turn off the heat and allow the copper to cool on the burner for about 20 minutes. The black layer will pop and flake off. Don't try to scrape off remaining black pieces; you'll damage the cuprous oxide.
- 4). Cut the top from a clear plastic bottle with your utility knife. Rinse out the bottle and remove the label. Fill the bottle about halfway with warm water and add about ½ cup of salt. Stir the water until the salt dissolves.
- 5). Slide a copper rectangle down against either side of your bottle so the last inch or so of each rectangle is submerged in the water. Clip the rectangles to the top edges of the bottle with alligator clip wires.
- 6). Clip the loose end of each alligator to the clips on a micro-ammeter. Place the solar cell in the sun with the cuprous oxide in full light. The micro-ammeter needle should jump to a high setting, showing an electric pulse.