When energy flows from a battery through a device, it triggers a response according to the design. A clock might start ticking as the second-hand pointer moves. A light bulb could also come on in a fitting hanging from the ceiling. However, its brightness depends of the strength of current flowing through it. We illustrate this principle with an experiment showing how to light a candle with a single-cell battery.
How to Light a Candle with a Single Cell Battery
You will need the following to complete this experiment:
# A small candle – short not tall – that burned before
# A loosely fluffed out cotton ball, nice and dry
# A new size AA battery or at least check it is fully charged
# Kitchen foil and scissors but do remember to ask mum first
# An adult to make sure you don’t accidentally burn yourself
Prepare your Electric Circuit First
Cut out a piece of kitchen film wide enough to roll twice around the AA battery cell. This should be two inches longer than the cell so you can scrunch it around the ends. However, you can’t light a candle this way because the resistance of the sheet would be too high.
Hence, we have to cut the strip through the middle from either side twice, however not quite completely. We need an eighth-inch-wide strip in the middle so the circuit can complete between the battery cell terminals. If we get it right, this will become hot enough to light the candle.
Now, Prepare Your Candle for the Experiment
This part is easy; first position the cotton ball around the candle wick. Now, wrap your kitchen foil around the battery cell so it connects the terminals via the eighth-inch-wide strip.
BE CAREFUL because that strip of foil will get hot if we got the resistance correct. Press it gently against the cotton ball until it catches fire and lights the candle through heat transfer. Cut the strip a little thinner if it’s not hot enough. Like the kid in the video said “I told you we could light it up, and we did I told you we could do it.”
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Preview Image: Cut the Kitchen Foil Strip Carefully (Video)
Video Share Link: https://youtu.be/3tWvswkK05w
