How To Make a Potato Powered Calculator

  • January 19, 2010
  • 4,457 Views

mybunsenburner from shannon callaghan (and 1 other)

Emerging Filmmakers
Please install Flash

Long a science-fair project staple, this potato powered calculator is easy to recreate yourself!

You Will Need

  • Two potatoes
  • A marker
  • Two pieces of heavy copper wire
  • Two galvanized nails
  • Three alligator clips with wires
  • A low-voltage, battery-operated calculator
How To Make a Potato Powered Calculator: Number potatoes

Step 1: Number potatoes

Label your potatoes one and two.

How To Make a Potato Powered Calculator: Remove battery

Step 2: Remove battery

Remove the batteries from the calculator. Take care to note where the positive and negative terminals are within the battery compartment.

How To Make a Potato Powered Calculator: Insert nails

Step 3: Insert nails

Insert a nail into each potato and stick a copper wire into each potato, opposite the nail.

Alligator clips, nails, and wire can be purchased at your local hardware store.

How To Make a Potato Powered Calculator: Connect clips

Step 4: Connect clips

Connect one alligator clip to the copper wire in potato no. 1 and attach the other end to the positive battery terminal in the calculator’s compartment.

How To Make a Potato Powered Calculator: Create second connection

Step 5: Create second connection

Clip a second alligator clip to the nail in potato no. 2, and then connect the other end to the calculator’s negative battery connection.

How To Make a Potato Powered Calculator: Complete circuit

Step 6: Complete circuit

Complete the circuit by clipping the third alligator clip to the nail in potato one and to the copper wire in potato two. Voila, a working calculator!

Did you know? Americans eat 130 pounds of potatoes per person each year.

Something wrong?

Report This How-To

Cancel

Comments (3)

kool

doing this for a science fair project lol

29 days ago by kool

Reply
HeatherMenicucci

Awesome video!

over 2 years ago by HeatherMenicucci

Reply
kool

that was my son eric he does tat all this all the time

29 days ago by kool

Reply

or to post a comment. Or, sign in using your Facebook to comment
and share your activity with your friends

Video is in Useful Videos (792 videos)

How To Pick Up a Girl At the Beach Easy Steps

How To Pick Up a Girl At the Beach

Now Playing (753 of 792): How To Make a Potato Powered Calculator

How To Extend the Life Of Your iPhone Battery Easy Steps

How To Extend the Life Of Your iPhone Battery

How To Make Watermelon Sorbet Easy Steps

How To Make Watermelon Sorbet

open/close
© 2012 Howcast Media, Inc