Jan 30, 2007
Potato Powered mp3 Player – Not!
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Fed up with using up so many batteries? Rechargeables giving you poor mileage? Then why not try a couple of sweet potatoes instead.
In this “video tutorial”, you’ll learn how to use a couple of galvanized (zinc coated) nails, some bare copper wire, a pair of mini crocodile clips, AND two sweet potatoes, to power up your mp3 player with not a conventional battery in sight. Great video and the music’s sweet too.
The Hole – video powered by Metacafe
This appliance is, of course, closely related to the lemon battery (or more formally lemon cell) familiar to anyone who’s searched for a high school science project. Two different metallic objects dipped into a conduction solution (an electrolyte) will produce an electrochemical reaction the byproduct of which is electricity. A single lemon is usually enough to illuminate a flashlight bulb, but two sweet potatoes are apparently required for an mp3 player. Yes, it reduces the portability of your player, but just think…no more buying batteries! Of course, things might get a bit smelly as those sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas) start to go off.
David Bradley
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Sciencebase 
January 30th, 2009 at 7:52 am
Nick, of course it doesn’t work. Look at the “circuit”, how could it? It’s a spoof? You could use potatoes to produce an electric current if you wired it up properly, but it would produce only a very small current certainly not enough to power an mp3 player. If you read my post you will see the clues. But, the title is the biggest clue, surely – “Potato Powered mp3 Player – Not!”
January 30th, 2009 at 12:44 am
THIS DOES NOT WORK DO NOT I REPEAT DO NOT DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!