[Lab] Homemade Capacitor

[Mark Stephenson]

Awesome projects Emily!

Cheers,
Mark

On Fri, Oct 28, 2011 at 7:41 PM, Emily Daniels <emily.daniels at gmail.com> wrote:
> Here is my work so far, in case anyone would like to try it:
> http://www.emilydaniels.com/2011/10/making-rochelle-salt/
> http://www.emilydaniels.com/2011/10/sweet-n-salty-capacitor/
> Emily
>
> On Fri, Oct 28, 2011 at 1:31 PM, Emily Daniels <emily.daniels at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>>
>> Good idea! I'll try that- thanks Andrew!
>>
>> On Fri, Oct 28, 2011 at 1:22 PM, Andrew Plumb <andrew at plumb.org> wrote:
>>>
>>> Ah, mixing the two salt solutions could be part of the problem.  Perhaps
>>> try building up your structure in discrete layers, i.e alternate between
>>> layers of Rochelle and Epsom, or make your primary Rochelle crystals then
>>> coat them in Epsom+Rochelle mixture.
>>>
>>> On 2011-10-28, at 12:09 PM, Emily Daniels wrote:
>>>
>>> > @Andrew- way ahead of that. Already grew and tested piezo crystals at
>>> > home from cream of tarter and washing soda. The problem with Rochelle salt
>>> > is it is fragile and can crack and fragment easily under pressure. In my
>>> > salt mixture I combined Rochelle salt with Epsom salt (Magnesium Sulfate)
>>> > and heated it to liquid then poured it into the candy molds. In seawater
>>> > Magnesium acts as a sound absorber- meaning it can carry vibrations over a
>>> > distance. The piezo crystals suspended in the Magnesium seems to allow a
>>> > reverberation to happen, despite it's nearly solid state. Both salts are
>>> > highly hydroscopic and suck in moisture from the air, allowing some movement
>>> > of ions in the mixture. I channel the electricity generated through a copper
>>> > and an aluminum wire spiralled for maximum surface area and inserted an inch
>>> > apart in the solidified solution. The copper wire acts as the anode and the
>>> > aluminum is the cathode.
>>> >
>>> > @Darcy I saw your homemade hand crank- really neat! In this experiment
>>> > I was trying to challenge myself by creating an energy source from common
>>> > household items so that a person with limited access to electronic
>>> > components could make it without relying on refurbished piezo buzzers and
>>> > the like. Seems I have a way to go..
>>> >
>>> > Emily
>>> >
>>> > On Fri, Oct 28, 2011 at 11:36 AM, Andrew Plumb <andrew at plumb.org>
>>> > wrote:
>>> > Colin's "Homebrew Piezo" blog post may be a good place to start:
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2011/03/collins-lab-homebrew-piezo.html
>>> >
>>> > Andrew.
>>> >
>>> > On 2011-10-28, at 11:29 AM, Emily Daniels wrote:
>>> >
>>> > > Hi Folks,
>>> > >
>>> > > I've been working on a design that I thought would be a different
>>> > > type of battery but it seems to discharge too quickly for that, but so far
>>> > > it can take a charge of 6V DC in 30 sec from a 9V battery and discharge
>>> > > about 3V when a load is applied (in my test case a 3V LED) in about a
>>> > > minute. It has a resting charge of .6V DC and 1V AC per cell. I have 4 of
>>> > > them wired together for the above load tests. It's a type of dry
>>> > > electrolytic cell made of a non-toxic salt mixture in a hard sugar candy
>>> > > shell with piezoelectric Rochelle salts (yes you could eat it but I don't
>>> > > think you'd want to) and I'm wondering if anyone has any experience
>>> > > generating electricity from heat or vibrations of Rochelle salts or quartz
>>> > > that they could help me with. I already tested the cells on top of a
>>> > > subwoofer and by heating them with a hairdryer, which both times there was a
>>> > > .1V fluctuation, but not a build up of charge, and I cracked a cell. Thanks!
>>> > >
>>> > > Emily
>>> > >
>>> > > --
>>> > > Emily Daniels | emilydaniels.com | @emdaniels | awesomefoundation.org
>>> > >
>>> > > _______________________________________________
>>> > > Lab mailing list
>>> > > Lab at artengine.ca
>>> > > http://artengine.ca/mailman/listinfo/lab
>>> >
>>> > --
>>> >
>>> > "The future is already here.  It's just not very evenly distributed" --
>>> > William Gibson
>>> >
>>> > Me: http://clothbot.com/wiki/
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > --
>>> > Emily Daniels | emilydaniels.com | @emdaniels | awesomefoundation.org
>>> >
>>>
>>> --
>>>
>>> "The future is already here.  It's just not very evenly distributed" --
>>> William Gibson
>>>
>>> Me: http://clothbot.com/wiki/
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Emily Daniels | emilydaniels.com | @emdaniels | awesomefoundation.org
>>
>
>
>
> --
> Emily Daniels | emilydaniels.com | @emdaniels | awesomefoundation.org
>
>
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